In Dreams
by Writing2Gether
Summary: Dreams have little meaning and relevance to everyday life for most. But sometimes, people exist whose waking and sleeping dreams are intricately connected. During their first year at Hogwarts, daydreaming takes on a whole new meaning for four friends and these dreams could change the course of their lives as they know it... and maybe even history.
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings Readers! I'm Ro, one of the authors of this Harry Potter story.**

 _And I'm Erin, Ro's crazier half._

 **That's...actually kinda accurate, but we tend to switch back and forth between who's crazier.**

 _True. Either way, we're not here to waste your time with our ranting._

 **Erin's right. We're here to explain that we share the responsibility of writing this story so chapters will be slightly different styles because of this.**

 _Nothing too drastic. We do edit each other's parts so our separate styles have melded together a bit. It shouldn't be too hard to follow. Right Ro?_

 **I don't think it would be, but just in case it is, please tell us in the comment section!**

 _Oh! Speaking of the comments section, Ro, do you want to tackle our comment policy?_

 **Sure! Basically, we love to read your comments, good and bad. We just have a few rules when it comes to commenting. 1) Please be courteous to us and to others in the comment section. This is our story that we are sharing with you. We take your comments into consideration for future chapters, but please don't be angry if we don't do everything that you want. This is our story after all. Your comments are a compliment to us but aren't law. 2) Please keep the language in the comments section as PG-13 as possible. Crude language really isn't needed to express your thoughts of our story. We appreciate your thoughts and want to read them so make it easier for us by limiting the explicative we have to sift through before we find your point. 3) Have fun in the comment section. We will be reading and giving shout outs to our favorite comments so feel free to come up with theories or suggestions. We appreciate all comments, especially criticism that will help us write better. Thanks everyone!**

 _One last thing. We don't own the Harry Potter universe. We only own our OCs and the unique plot nuances that occur in our rendition of J.K. Rowling's amazing story. Enjoy!_

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 _ **Chapter 1: Family Legacy**_

* * *

Kylie Bennett sits cross-legged on the lacy cushioned window seat in her room, unable to sleep. Propping her head up lazily on her little elbows, she stares through the glass at the full moon bathing the dark streets below in a silvery glow and thinks that it looks quite different tonight than it usually does. It's shiner, brighter somehow, as if it is announcing that something huge is about to happen.

And maybe it is, because tomorrow is Kylie's 11th birthday, and she, as all young wizards and witches her age, knows it signals the arrival of her long-awaited acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Being from a pureblood family, Kylie feels especially anxious to receive it. After all, nearly all of her relatives had gotten accepted and had recounted the story of their 11th birthdays to her so many times that she became sick of hearing it.

"Oh, it was simply the most joyous day of my entire life!" her starry-eyed aunt had crooned, clapping her hands together in sheer giddiness.

"You'll just be the best witch the Bennett family has ever seen, kiddo, I'm sure of it." Her kind grandfather expresses this thought on multiple occasions, making the pressure to get her letter that much greater.

"Turning eleven? I hope you know that you're just the luckiest girl in the world right now. Hogwarts will be the best experience of your life, and you had better appreciate it. You'll never get those days back." Her slightly grumpy grandmother had wistfully said to her just yesterday, and Kylie hadn't been quite sure how to respond.

Mostly she just wanted to scream, or throw something, or clap her hands permanently over her ears so she would never have to hear another comment about letters and Hogwarts and owls and best day evers. Because if her overzealous relatives were right in what they said, getting in to Hogwarts was all that really mattered in life. It would mean that her whole existence had been leading up to one day, one moment in time. And that moment could be tomorrow. Kylie wasn't entirely sure that she could handle that kind of pressure. She squeezes her stuffed snowy owl Matilda tightly, as if trying to siphon some comfort from its plush, fluffy body. Maybe tomorrow a real owl would soar through the sky with the crisp white envelope clenched safely in in its beak and, who knows, maybe it would be the best day of her life.

Unless of course, the letter didn't come. That might mean that the owl got detoured somewhere and she'd have to wait until later in the summer. Due to her impatient nature, Kylie wasn't sure if she could handle that. Worse still would be if it never did come. The only way that could happen was if she were a Squib, a person from a wizarding family with no magical abilities. Maybe that's what she was, though. A talentless Squib without a scrap of magic inside her. The thought strikes her with sudden panic, and she grasps Matilda tighter, shaking her head to ward off the unwelcome thought. She was being ridiculous. After all, she had already done some magic in her life; although they were accidents and helped literally no one.

For example, once she was super angry at her mother for not letting her go to her friend's party and shattered an entire shelf's worth of bottles of Essence of Dittany which she used in her job as an herbologist. All she even did was look at the bottles! That had left her and her family stepping on stray glass shards for weeks.

And then there was the time when she was so excited about all the chocolate her brother Ian had brought home for her from his trip to Hogsmeade, she made the candy literally explode in his face. Kylie giggles a little at the memory, picturing the giant gobs of chocolate streaming down his stunned face. She'd also made a paper airplane she had found lying in her backyard actually fly away about a week ago, but she'd never done anything really useful or special. That had to wait.

Kylie lets out a long, exasperated groan at the thought, rising from her perch by the window. She didn't want to wait any longer! The way this night was going, morning would never come! And sleep at this point was next to impossible. She needed something… one of her mum's herbal remedies, maybe? No, no, she didn't want to wake her, and she didn't know if they would even help when she was this excited. She casts a nervous glance back at the window, at the dark, abandoned streets below and gets a sudden impulse to pack a bag, sprint as fast as she could to King's Cross Station, jump on the train to Hogwarts and storm up to Dumbledore's office, demanding to know if she'd been accepted. She grins, imagining the look on the Headmaster's face if she were to pull such a stunt. Tempting, but no.

What she really needed was a book, one of her brother's. Ian had all sorts of textbooks from Hogwarts because he was going to be a Fourth Year this September. Every once in awhile, Kylie would sneak into his room and take one, unbearably curious to see what was inside. She'd only made it a page into Bathilda Bagshot's _A History of Magic_ , but she absolutely loved Newt Scamander's _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_. Reading has always helped her sleep before, and she didn't see why it should fail now. It was settled. That's what she would take. But she had to be super quiet.

Resolving herself to the task at hand, Kylie lightly crosses her carpeted bedroom floor to her door, cringing at the obnoxious creaking sound it makes when it opens. Neither of her parents have bothered to fix it yet, and Kylie wonders sometimes if that was on purpose, like to keep her from sneaking out. She rolls her eyes at the thought. As if she would ever do a thing like that! Anyway, they'd never hear it. Their house is much too big for that and her parents are sound sleepers.

Since she is the only one who has a bedroom downstairs she has to climb the long spiral staircase to get to her brother's wing. As she tiptoes as quietly as she can up the marble steps, she thinks of the rare occasions when friends come to visit and their shocked faces once they get a look at her house. One of two things always happen. They either squeal in delight at how big and grand it is, or they look sheepishly down at their feet, like they shouldn't be friends with someone that had much money. Kylie has always hated that, and it makes her kind of hesitant to make friends too quickly. But it wasn't because she was stuck up!

Sure, her dad has a really good job as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, but that doesn't mean he's any different from anybody else. He has always treated everybody he meets with kindness; he never acted like he was better than any other wizard. He doesn't even own a house elf which most wealthy wizards wouldn't dare go without. No, he was certainly not a snob.

And neither was she. Kylie glances up at gilded framed portraits of her ancestors that grace the walls surrounding the stairs. All of their eyes slowly lock on her, as if they know she's about to steal, um, borrow something from Ian.

"Going somewhere, missy?" A warbling, judgmental voice comes from the bronze-framed portrait to the right of Kylie, framing a distant ancestor Kylie thinks is an aunt. She jumps a little at the sound but ignores her. She was always like this. Even though Kylie has asked for her portrait to be removed countless times, she was never permitted. Family history holds too high of an importance in pureblood families. Everyone had to stay. Even the obnoxious, snobby ones.

Looking into her great-grandma's sky blue eyes from the portrait directly above her, she wonders if she were ever stuck up. Probably not, her mum speaks too highly of her. But some people still dislike her family and Kylie can't help but wonder why. Maybe nobody at Hogwarts would want to be her friend.

Kylie becomes so lost in these turbulent thoughts that she barely realizes when she reaches the door to Ian's room. She cups her ear around the door, pushing strands of her brown hair out of the way. He's asleep; she can hear him snoring through the door. Ugh, why was he always so loud?! She grabs the knob as silently as she can and opens the door just a crack, not wanting to let too much light into his room. For all his snoring, Ian is actually kind of a light sleeper. Thankfully, she's tiny for her age and just can squeeze through the miniscule opening. Tiptoeing carefully across the carpet, Kylie gropes blindly along the wall until she finds the cool cedar wood of her brother's bookcase. She grins when her eyes alight on the shiny lettering of Fantastic Beasts shining through the darkness and pulls it from the shelf in one smooth motion.

She sees the dim outline of her brother across the room, lying on his stomach with his arms outstretched and snoring away like there was no tomorrow and Kylie smiles, quite pleased with herself. Clutching the book to her chest, she starts her silent journey back to the door, certain Ian would never suspect a thing. And she would have left right then and there had she not seen something that completely captivates her attention. Her brother's beechwood wand lying diagonally on top of his bookcase. It looks quite lonesome just sitting there like it was begging for someone to touch it. Ian has never let her hold it before, but she's always wondered what it would be like. And school supply shopping felt like centuries away. It wouldn't hurt to just touch it, right? Before she can stop herself, Kylie reaches down and grasps her fingers around the wooden wand, instantly loving the feel of it in her hands, cool and smooth. How much better would it feel if she tried a spell, just one… Her mind races through the array of incantations she has heard Ian tell her about… what was the one that made things levitate? She glances down at the feather quill sitting on top of the shelf and her mouth opens without her giving it permission.

"Wingardium…"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ian's voice shatters the silence, and Kylie screams and drops both his wand and the book, wincing as it falls directly on her toes. She turns around, whimpering a little and stares at her brother, who has at some point stopped his snoring and is now shining a lantern beam directly onto her face. His short brown hair is mussed from sleep, his glasses are askew and he looks… absolutely furious. Kylie imagines she looks exactly like a guilty puppy.

"Um, I.."

"That's my wand! Why are you in here?! Were you trying to do magic?! You know you can get expelled if you do magic outside of school, right! You could get me expelled!" His words come out in a frantic rush, and he stares her down, demanding an explanation.

"I…I didn't think.."

"Yeah, that's the problem, Kylie." Ian interrupts, running a hand through his hair. "You don't… you never think!" The harshness of her brother's words startles Kylie, and her eyes start to well with tears against her will. Ian's face softens.

"Look…Kylie.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean.." He lets out a heavy sigh and rubs his eyes tiredly, knocking his glasses even more askew. "You just shocked me is all. Why were you trying to do magic?"

"I just… wanted to see if I could." Kylie whispers, her voice trailing off. She bites her lip, wondering if she should express her fear to him. The words come tumbling out. "Ian, what if I don't get my letter? What if I'm a Squib? It'll be just awful!"

Ian laughs as if he can't believe her words and sits up further on his bed. "Kylie, you're not a Squib. Remember the chocolate incident?"

"Well, yeah, but.."

"You're not a Squib, I promise. You'll get your letter… as long as you don't do something stupid and get expelled before you get there. Or they'll notice that you're good at sneaking around and put you in Slytherin."

Just hearing the word makes Kylie cringe. Ian, who had been sorted into Gryffindor, always comes home with horror stories about the witches and wizards in Slytherin house.

"They better not." She says bitterly.

"And you'd better get out of my room before you wake Mum and Dad."

"I'm going, I'm going." Suddenly feeling very tired, Kylie starts to make her way to Ian's door, dodging piles of dirty clothes and the odd candy wrapper along the way .

"Hey, Kylie?" Ian says as she opens the door to leave.

"Yeah?"

"You'll get your letter."

She smiles a little. "If I can stay out of trouble for the next couple of hours." Kylie then closes the door, leaving Ian and his copy of Fantastic Beasts behind her.

* * *

Rays of intrusive sunlight stream through Kylie's bedroom window, and she groans and rolls over to go back to sleep, trying to bury herself under the pillowy mounds of covers. Then it hits her all at once. Hogwarts! Her letter! How long has she slept? Leaping out of bed faster than she thought was possible, Kylie throws on a pair of old jeans that fray softly around the ankles and doesn't bother to change out of the shirt she'd slept in, an oversized purple thing advertising an all-witch band called _The Weird Sisters_. She pushes her tangled brown waves out of her eyes and sprints in her sock feet to her door. Taking the marble steps two at a time, and nearly tripping halfway down, she finally arrives in the dining area, where her Dad and Ian are already sitting down at the long ornately carved wooden table to have breakfast while her mother is getting ready for work in front of the full length mirror in the foyer.

"It was just the worst case of Vanishing Sickness I've ever witnessed, Rebecca!" Kylie's dad exclaims from his table, between large mouthfuls of breakfast. "By the time my colleagues and I had whipped up an appropriate remedy, all that remained of poor Jimmy was his head and one of his hands. Everything else.. gone!" He makes a dramatic gesture across the rest of his body.

Kylie rolls her eyes as she leans against the stair railing on the last step. Of course her dad was discussing one of the grotesque incidents from the hospital. He enjoyed his work way too much sometimes. At least it wasn't something super gross this time. She had no desire to hear about the properties of infected dragon pox, especially on her birthday.

Her mum grimaces in reply as she gathers her fine, ebony brown hair into a tight bun at the top of her head. Ian, however, grins like it's the best piece of news he's heard in a while.

"Weird! So were you able to get the rest of him back, or did you just have to bring him out in two pieces. Like you took the head and then told another Healer to " _give you a hand_?" Ian raises his voice at the end of his sentence and dissolves into a fit of laughter at his own joke. Kylie can't help but let out a groan at the terrible pun.

"Ian, this is not a laughing matter... well, look who finally decided to get up?!" Her dad turns his head at the sound of exasperation coming from his daughter, who has now made her way to stand beside the table.

She gives an awkward smile in reply and glances over to where bacon is sizzling in a pan on the stove and a wooden spoon is stirring a pot of some sort of healthy substance that her parents enjoy. She figures that's what comes from having an Herbologist for a Mother and a Healer for a father. They were a bit too health-conscious in Kylie's opinion. But sure enough, Pygmy Puffs, the sugary cereal she requests every year, is sitting on top of her place at the table, a shiny silver bow gracing the top with curly ribbons tumbling down the sides. She moves to sit down at her seat at the head of the table but not before her mum rushes over from the foyer to envelop her in a stifling hug.

"How's the birthday girl this morning?" She asks, cheeriness gushing from her voice.

"Is my letter here?" Kylie mumbles into her shirt as mother and daughter disentangle from the hug. She gazes up at her mum's sparkling blue eyes, awaiting an answer. Instead, her mother shakes her head in mock disbelief.

"That's all you care about, huh? We raised you for 11 years, put a roof over your head and gave you clothes and all the food you could ever want.." She pauses as Kylie gives her a suspicious glance.. "well, except for sweets, of course...and you just want a little letter. Did you hear that, Bruce?"

"I heard." Her father replies through a mouthful of the oatmealish substance in his bowl, and looks up from his copy of _The Daily Prophet_ , a teasing expression dancing in his emerald-colored eyes. His short, graying hair sticking out in random directions from his head combined with his St. Mungo's lab coat gives him the appearance of the Muggle version of a mad scientist.

"I don't know. Should we give it to her?" He shrugs at both Ian and her mum before then extracting a large white envelope from under the table and twirling it temptingly around in his hands. Kylie's heart leaps violently in her chest. "She overslept, and well, the early bird catches the worm." Her father adds with a playful grin.

Kylie grimaces. Why do parents always act super weird on birthdays, she wonders to herself. It's like they contract this weird disease that makes them super happy and talk mainly in clichés.

"Maybe she just had a hard time sleeping last night." Ian interjects as he stuffs a whole piece of bacon into his mouth. "Too busy pretending to be a Niffler, right Kylie?" He smirks at her.

Kylie's stomach does a backflip. He had just compared her to an animal known for sneaking around stealing valuables. Of course her parents were going to ask what Ian meant! She would be in so much trouble!

Much to her relief, her father just raises his eyebrows at Ian, a confused look passing over his face, and then shrugs, probably just deciding that his son was super weird, and there was nothing that could be done for him.

"Well…. I guess it couldn't hurt." A millisecond is probably all the time that passes between Kylie's father holding out the envelope to her, and Kylie snatching eagerly it from his grip.

Her dad says something, and Ian laughs heartily in reply, but Kylie doesn't catch what it is. She is too busy running her fingers lightly over the inscription on the front of the envelope as if it were something far too beautiful to tear open and ruin.

Ms. Kylie Bennett

The Bedroom on the Lower Left Wing

48 Willowbend Way

Liverpool, England

Her shaking hands slide under the thick Hogwarts seal affixed to the envelope and she opens the letter, finally reading the words she has longed to read her whole life.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. K. Bennett,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

She slides into her chair, not quite comprehending the words. She had made it. She really was a witch! Now all she had to do was stop sneaking around so she wouldn't be put in Slytherin.

* * *

 **Favorite and comment at your leisure!**

 _Thank you for_ _reading! Have a good day!_

 **The next chapter should be out soon. What was the plan for updates again Erin?**

 _Weekly, Ro. We'll do our best to update weekly. Thanks for your patience!_

 **See you next week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Welcome back to In Dreams! It's Ro again! **

_And Erin!_ And we're back with another chapter for you guys!

 **You're welcome. Haha! But in all seriousness, thank you for reading the first chapter and continuing onto the second! It's a huge compliment to our hard work that people are willing to read our story!**

 _Ro's right. Thank you so much for reading! We hope that you're enjoying the first few chapters that give you a glimpse into each of the characters of our story. We're forming a group of our own for this story._

 **Yep! The Golden Trio aren't the** **only group of kick butt witches and wizards. Enjoy chapter 2! Please comment with your thoughts on each character!**

 _Of course, we don't own the Harry Potter franchise. If we did, we wouldn't have to worry about student expenses. We only own our OCs and the quirks in the plot that we came up with. Oh! And in these first few chapters, all the addresses are completely made up. These addresses aren't real just so you know. Ok. Now you can enjoy the new chapter!_

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 ** _Chapter 2: Sapling_**

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"You're too rough, Sapling. Be gentle when weeding, or you'll hurt the plants you're trying to help. Patience will reward you." Grandfather Yixing hums in his soft, rumbling voice as he squats next to his impatient granddaughter Anne in the middle of the botanical gardens of Durham University.

"Yes Grandfather," Anne replies obediently, but can't hold back a scowl at the annoyingly persistent weed in front of her. The duo work in silence as the morning sun slowly makes its ascent in the sky. The fresh earth smells great underneath her coffee-colored fingers, reminding her of the tiny house at the corner of town her family calls home. She could do without her wispy black baby hairs sticking up everywhere and her sweat getting into her dark brown eyes.

Sighing softly, Anne reaches out to gently tug at a weed growing uncomfortably close to on of their more delicate flowers. Grasping the weed in one hand and keeping the other hand on the soil near the flowers to feel it shift underneath the force of her pull, Anne plants her feet and tugs a bit harsher on the stubborn weed. Her adversary is much more wily than she first thought because the weed slides out of Anne's grip, sending her falling on her bottom in the grass. Anne pouts, knowing without seeing that her grandfather is laughing at her right now. She huffs indignantly and turns her glare at the weed in front of her, wishing that she could will it to die so that she could move on to her next job.

Suddenly, the weed catches fire and burns away before her very eyes, making her shriek and stumble backwards. Immediately, her grandfather is between her and the plants, doing damage control like usual.

"Sapling, I will finish up for today. Wash up and do not be late for your lessons with Grandmother." Yixing reminds kindly, his lithe, old frame scuffling over to take Anne's place as she stands, flipping her long black hair confined in a messy braid over her shoulders. Her eyes cautiously take in the charred remains of the weed hidden in her grandfather's gloved hand. This isn't the first time that she's done something strange like that, but it seems like these series of unfortunate events are becoming more frequent as her eleventh birthday draws near. Anne shakes her head, not quite understanding what's happening with her and not really wanting to.

"Thank you, Grandfather. I'll get better at this soon, or at least, I'll try." Anne says earnestly, blushing in embarrassment at how slow and clumsy she is at gardening. She avoids mentioning that she charred the weed, and she knows her easy-going grandfather will never ask about it. Yixing chuckles and peers up from under the brim of his wide straw hat. His soft brown eyes crinkle in delight as if he knows what's going on with her and finds the entire thing rather amusing.

"Sapling, you don't have to pretend to love gardening to please me. You are not very good at it. Besides, it's quite fun watching you struggle with these little weeds."

"Grandfather!" Anne whines, a small pout appearing on her face as she stomps lightly in irritation. She swipes a small hand across her forehead in order to wipe away the sweat that's threatening to get into her eyes again.

"Haha! Go on little Sapling. Don't keep grandmother waiting. We both know what will happen." Yixing crows in delight as Anne lets out a shudder at the memory of the scolding she got last time she was stubborn and didn't leave the garden when her grandfather told her too.

"Bye Grandfather! I'll see you at lunch!" she says with a wave and a bright smile, carefully weaving her way down the long rows of beautiful Oriental plants. She'll need to hurry if she wants to be on time for her erhu lessons.

"Sapling?"

"Yes Grandfather?" Anne asks curiously, pausing at the gate and wondering if she forgot something. It wouldn't be the first time that's happened.

"Tomorrow, you will be eleven, right?"

"That's right, Grandfather! Wait, you didn't forget, did you?" Anne shouts in indignation. "Grandfather, how could you? You never forget my birthday!"

Yixing laughs in that light and clear manner unique to him as he shuffles to the next plant in need of his care. "I didn't forget, Sapling," he replies, shooing Anne off as he focuses on pruning and weeding once again.

Anne puffs out her cheeks lightly and slips through the gate. "Why'd you ask in the first place?" she mutters to herself, running her fingers along the vines climbing the fence as she walks towards the washrooms. "Grandfather's such a tease."

The vine shakes underneath her hand, and back in the garden, Yixing raises his head to the vines closest to him as if listening to a conversation and chuckles softly before continuing to work.

Truth be told, Anne is late to her erhu lesson, being the easily distracted child that she is and gets chewed out once again by her irate grandmother Mei. Thankfully, she manages to redeem herself by making good progress on her previously abysmal bowing skills so the imposing yet small in stature Asian woman isn't nearly as cross with her when Mum, Dad, and Grandfather come home for lunch. The University of Durham where Yixing and her mum, Tiffany, work is on the same bus route as the Museum that her dad, Richard, is in charge of so the family always eats every meal together if they can. The only hiccup in their plan that summer is her older brother Landon who is 14 years old. Landon is much braver than Anne, but he shares with her a strong sense of responsibility so he works from 8-5 in a pottery shop selling wares. The shop isn't near a bus stop so he can't come home for their family lunches sadly.

"Sapling's turning eleven tomorrow," Yixing says softly as he chews on his rice. "I think I will spend the day with her tomorrow."

"Really? I can hang out with you all day?" Anne asks excitedly, getting a soft tut from her grandmother.

"Oi! What's so bad about staying home with me all day," Mei asks with a huff, but a careful observer would see the teasing look in her dark eyes. No matter how stern she may look with her salt and pepper hair pulled up in a tight bun, Mei is a grandmother first of all and above all.

"Nothing Grandmother!" Anne yelps immediately, burying her face into her bowl of rice to avoid her grandmother's sharp gaze.

Richard and Tiffany laugh their daughter's antics, but the smile slips off of Tiffany's beautiful face as she turns to her father. "Baba, are you sure that...well…"

"Hm, the little one is talented." Yixing wisely picks up where his daughter trails off. "Even if it's not in gardening." he can't help but add with a quick wink at Anne who sticks her tongue out at him playfully because she knows he'd just laugh which he does.

"Yes, I don't doubt that she is," Richard states firmly, making Anne blush with pride. Her father is very serious and doesn't give compliments often so she soaks up each one and treasures it. "However, are you sure that she'll get the letter? I'm still not sure if I even want to send her there." Richard admits with a frown, his large hand coming up to rub down his face tiredly. Anne notices that father has a little bit of stubble coming in which only happens when he's really stressed.

Anne perks up at the mention of a letter. "I'm getting a letter tomorrow?"

"You might, Dear," Tiffany soothes gently, tucking a stray wisp behind Anne's ear. Anne clearly got her beautiful, thick black hair from her mother, even down to the wispy baby hairs along her hairline that refuse to stay in place. "It's to a special school in Scotland."

"Scotland? Why am I being sent so far away?" Anne asks confused and scared. She's never been far from home, and the thought of a big, mysterious boarding school so far away from her hometown of Durham terrifies her. She'd always thought that she'd go to school in town and attend Durham University upon graduation before entering the workforce as a researcher. She doesn't like changes in plan, and this news is just too much for her. "Did….did I do something wrong? Is that why you're sending me away?" she asks, gnawing on her lip raw as she tries not to cry. She knows that she isn't really good at anything outside of studying and maybe her erhu, but she was trying hard to be more well-rounded. Her parents have always been encouraging her so she doesn't understand why they are sending her away to some school when they know she has a serious fear of crowds. "I'll get better! I'll work harder! I promise! Just...don't send me away. Please. I don't want to leave home." she whimpers, gripping her chopsticks tightly. Memories of the past begin to flood her mind as her fear rises.

"Sapling, calm down. Breathe." her grandfather's voice rings out in the suddenly quiet kitchen table. Anne squeezes her eyes shut even tighter, counting backwards in her head until she's calmed her breathing. Licking her lips nervously, Anne cracks her eyes open just for a moment to see some of the most amazing and unexplainable incidents that have happened yet. All of their plates, empty or not, as well as their silverware seem to be floating in the air, ready to being performing their own rendition of Disney's Be Our Guest. Anne turns her head slowly and sees her grandmother, mother, and father have all cautiously reached out to snatch the floating dishes from the air.

"What...I don't-" Anne whispers hoarsely, the suspended objects beginning to vibrate violently.

"Calm down, Child! We don't need a mess!" her grandmother shouts sternly, her eyes trained on a pair of chopsticks twirling dangerously over Anne's head. Anne stiffens at her grandmother's words and closes her eyes, counting backwards once again. She forces herself to remain calm as she hears her family grab each and every floating item and set it safely back on the table. Anne doesn't even register that she's shaking until her mother wraps her into a warm embrace, causing her to open her eyes.

"Oh Honey. You've done nothing wrong. We're not sending you away because we don't want you around. We believe that this school will be good for you." Tiffany coos, scooping up her panicking daughter into her arms and rocking back and forth gently. "I know you're scared, but you know that strange things happen to you."

"Am I a freak, Mum? Are you sending me to some mental school?" Anne sniffles, suddenly terrified of herself.

It's her father that nips the thought at the bud. "Never call yourself that, Anne" he says sternly, reaching over to place a firm hand on Anne's head. "You are special and more skilled than any of us here. You are not a freak. Don't ever tell yourself that or let someone call you that. You are our beautiful daughter, and we will always love you." he whispers, wrapping both his wife and his daughter in a hug.

Anne quivers un his embrace, incredibly thankful for her supportive and warm family. She knows that her parents are just scared as she is, but she also knows that they're doing this because they think it's best, because they believe that this school will help her control these unfortunate events.

From the very moment Anne was born, she was always a timid child which led to her being a very quiet child that doesn't bring much attention to herself. During a school trip back when she was 6, Anne's class left her behind at the zoo unknowingly while the young girl was in the bathroom. Being in a crowded place all alone sent Anne into a full-blown panic attack which sends the animals around her into a frenzy. The frenzied animals panic the adults and visiting children, creating small stampedes throughout the zoo. Buffeted from all sides by people, Anne is nearly trampled while trying to find a place to hide. Ever since that day, Anne's been deathly afraid of crowds, and Tiffany knows how frightening a boarding school is to her little girl.

"I'm still uncomfortable sending her to that school, Father." Richard grumbles, releasing Tiffany and Anne from his embrace. His dark eyes are stern and sharp as steel behind rectangular glasses. "You've seen how she is with crowds since that day. Couldn't you teach her from home? You seem to know much about-"

"What I do and what Sapling does are vastly different, my Son." Yixing says gravely. "And it's especially because of that day that she needs to go to that school, Richard. I know you're scared, but that school will help Anne. There's no better school to teach her what she needs to know." Yixing declares firmly, a vague green light flashing in his eyes before they return to their normal brown.

"There is no need to fuss, Child." Mei adds, reaching over to pat Anne's back. "We will all be with you as you prepare to go to school. You're not going to go in alone if I have a say in this." she comforts in her rough, standoffish way.

Anne sniffles but smiles. Her family's right. Sure, the thought of a new school in Scotland terrifies her, but she really wants to get better with crowds. She doesn't want to be afraid all the time anymore because that makes her parents afraid too, and she hates the stress that she puts her parents and grandparents through. She can do this with their help and support. Grandfather will be there with her whenever this letter comes, and she knows that he and Grandmother can help her through anything.

That evening when Landon and her parents are all home, her family eats dinner together and spends the rest of the evening doing Tai Chi in the backyard before having a rare movie night once everyone's tired out. Anne couldn't be more thankful for the comforting presence all around her as she nods off in the middle of _The Princess Bride_. Landon, her mildly grumpy and very teasing older brother, would usually shove Anne off his shoulder, not liking whenever she would use him as a pillow, but his dad had pulled him aside before dinner and explained what's going on. While Landon doesn't quite understand the significance behind his little sister's eleventh birthday, he understands that it means she'll be studying abroad from now on so he'll treasure every moment he has with her until school starts.

Ttomorrow comes much too soon for Anne's liking. Even though she wakes up at 9 am, much later than the usual 6:30 am to help out in the garden, she couldn't help but want to curl up in a ball for the rest of the day. Her grandmother has other plans, though, and rips the covers off Anne's little frame and prods her awake with sharp, bony fingers.

"Up, up! Your letter's here!"

Anne jolts awake, her hair a wild mane of black locks, and stares at her grandmother open mouthed. "A-already?" she squeaks, suddenly a lot less brave than she was the night before. Mei sees how her granddaughter is practically quivering in fear and loops strong arms around her shoulders, giving Anne a rare but warm hug.

"Yes, already. Now, go wash up. Grandfather and I have been waiting ages to eat breakfast with you. Once we've got some breakfast, we can open that letter on the porch."

"Hm, ok, Grandmother. Thank you. I know you don't really like hugs." Anne whispers, burying her face into her grandmother's shoulder for comfort.

Mei chuckles and gives her one last squeeze before patting her back. "No, no I don't so let go, silly Child, and get ready. I'm hungry."

"Yes Grandmother!" Anne chirps, feeling a little braver than before and rushes off to the bathroom as her stomach starts whining for food as well.

Her birthday breakfast is an amazing sight to behold. Scrambled eggs with rice, lettuce, and cucumber, all seasoned with spicy soy sauce, and cubes of juicy beef sauteed just right wait for her that morning. Beef is rather expensive compared to the fish and chicken that they usually eat so Anne has to keep herself from hugging her grandmother again because she knows that her grandmother did not hold back anything for her eleventh birthday. "Thank you for the food!" she says respectfully before digging in. She takes her time eating, partly to savor the rich flavors of her breakfast and partly to prolong the time before she has to face the letter on the counter which is teasingly sitting on the edge of her peripheral vision.

Sadly, the food disappears much too soon, and Anne finds herself sitting on her grandfather's lap in the homemade wooden chairs on the back porch, thick letter in hand. Her grandmother sets down freshly squeezed orange juice on the small table next to the chairs before settling down herself. "Whenever you're ready, Sapling." Yixing murmurs, lightly tapping a gentle beat on Anne's knee with his spindly fingers as she shakily traces the beautiful script in front of her.

 _Miss A. Le_

 _The Bedroom Facing East on the First Floor_

 _102 Blaidwood Dr._

 _Durham, England_

Taking a deep breath, Anne flips the letter over and marvels at the intricate wax seal for a brief moment before carefully breaking the seal to pull out the letter inside. She blinks in surprise at the presence of two letters but decides to read one letter at a time.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

 _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Ms. Le,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

"O-owl? Magic? I don't get it." Anne mutters in confusion, turning around to meet her grandfather's kind eyes. "Grandfather, what does this all mean? What's this funny school talking about?"

"One question at a time, Sapling," Yixing reminds her gently. "First, I believe you've missed our visitor." he says, nodding to his left where a majestic grey screech owl is perching looking rather ruffled at being overlooked. The creature hoots loudly and flaps its large and impressive wings to show that it is the owl that the letter is speaking of.

"Oh!" Anne gasps, shrinking back a bit as memories of frenzied animals come back to haunt her.

"Hush, Sapling. It will not harm you." Yixing coos, patting Anne's knee until her relaxes and stops staring at the bird.

"For your next question Child, I'm sure you're not entirely surprised. You've seen a lot of magic growing up. You've done a bit of accidental magic too." Mei explains, getting a strange look from Anne. "Animals don't go into frenzies for no reason, Anne." she says as gently as she could. "They were reacting to your panic and were panicking with you."

"I-I ….I didn't know." Anne murmurs, turning to the owl next to her and wonders if she caused it to be upset. "I'm sorry Mr. Owl."

The owl tilts its head to the side and hoots softly while Yixing and Mei chuckle at Anne's concerned face. Yixing's eyes flash green again moments before Anne squeals loudly as a lazy bunch of ivy crawls it's way up the railing of the porch and starts to tickle her toes. She squirms backwards, burying her face into her grandfather's chest as he laughs heartily. "Grandfather! Why are you laughing?" she wails, looking up and jolting at the bright green eyes twinkling back at her. "Grandfather, are…..are you doing this?"

"Hm, that wily old man is a druid, Child. He's being sneaking around growing plants with his nature magic for years!" Mei huffs, trying to contain her own laughter as the ivy dances in merriment before crawling back down off the porch.

"Hm, yes, but it is much more fun with an audience." Yixing laughs heartily, hugging a squirming Anne briefly before she hops out of his lap and peers over the porch's edge to find the ivy completely gone.

"Whoa," she whispers, her eyes wide. "That ….. was so cool! Grandfather, you're amazing!" she cheers, jumping up and down in front of Yixing's chair. Yixing laughs in delight and holds out his hand in front of Anne's face, letting a beautiful blue iris bloom on his palm before tucking the flower into Anne's now neatly tied hair.

"Thank you, Sapling, but you've got a school supply list to look through." Yixing reminds her, pulling her back on his lap and handing her the letter she had set aside.

Anne scowls as she reads through the list, her heart sinking with each new item that she reads. "A wand, a cauldron? Where am I supposed to find all this, Grandfather?"

"There's only one place to get your magical supplies, Sapling, and that place is Diagon Alley,"

* * *

 **Whew! Second chapter all done!**

 _Wow, it's amazing how far we've come._

 **Haha! That's true. we weren't even planning to publish this story to begin with right?**

 _Yeah, but it's super cool to look back on our fun project and see how far we've come as writers._

 **True, true. Anyways, thank you for reading the second chapter! We hope you enjoyed it!**

 _Please come back next week for Chapter 3: Young Master. Have a good day!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello readers! We're back with another chapter! If you don't remember, I'm Ro!**

 _And I'm Erin as always. Now, for those who have figured out what we are doing for this story, congrats! You are brilliant!_

 **For those who haven't, it's ok. We're not exactly given any hints on how these characters connect at all or when the action's going to start.**

 _Yeah, sorry about that, but we like to keep our secrets._

 **Mwahahahaha!**

 _..._

 **Too much?**

 _Maybe just a bit. Anyways, in the summary of this story we said that there are four friends who will be going through this adventure together. You've already been introduced to two of them, Kylie Bennett and Anne Le._

 **Now, we return with the third main character, Sterling Kingsbury. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 3: Addressed to Me**_

* * *

"Good morning, Mum. Has my letter arrived yet?" eleven year old Sterling asks as he slips into his seat across from his mother at their lavish dining room table. Well, he's been told it's rather lavish by the various guests that come by to visit his parents, but since he's grown up with the fine tapestry lining two of the four walls of the dining room while the third wall is made of beautiful large windows, Sterling doesn't quite understand what life would be like with less. He supposes that it's a problem, but he hasn't become arrogant or complacent due to the wealth at his fingertips so he isn't all that urgent in alleviating the issue. Besides, to do so would mean that he would have to travel extensively to other people's homes and make small talk with them. While Sterling is much more adept at these things than the average eleven year old, given his upbringing, he's still an eleven year old. The young boy can only take so much small talk before he goes nearly mad with restlessness.

At the sound of his entry, his mother Katherine looks up from the files that she's working on to smile at her son. "Not yet dear, but it is quite early still, and the weather outside isn't doing us any favors. I'm sure the owl will come after we eat breakfast." she replies soothingly, tucking all her pages into a portfolio folder before handing the folder to her nearby personal house elf standing ready to serve the family. "Please place this in my work bag, Phoebe, and begin setting out breakfast. Be careful with it. These are important documents that I need to present to the Wizengamot. My husband should be coming from his room any minute now."

"Phoebe would be delighted to, Milady! She will take extra care with the lady's papers as well. Does the young master need anything to be brought to him?" the small elf chirps happily as she turns to Sterling. She's dressed in a simple blue camisole style dress which in all respects would've freed her from servitude to the Kingsbury family, but like all the elves in the service of the Kingsbury's, Phoebe chooses to serve the kind family who not only set her free but gives her a place to stay, food to eat, and clothes to where for the little things she does around the house. After all, the Kingsbury noble family are known for having many a brave and kind Gryffindor as head of the house which is still the case with the current Kingsbury family. While Phoebe was rather terrified to serve the Slytherin lady of the house, she quickly realizes that despite being a Slytherin, the woman bonded with the house elf over one thing: family. Both adore Mr. Kingsbury and Sterling to death and would go to the ends of the world for them. Because of this, Phoebe is quite content as Mrs. Kingsbury's personal house elf. Yes, Phoebe will forever remain loyal to the Kingsbury house.

"No, it's quite alright, Phoebe. I don't need anything." Sterling says in a stoic and smooth manner most other eleven year olds couldn't possibly pull off. After all, as the eldest son of the Kingsbury noble family, there is a lot of expectations and responsibility on Sterling's shoulders from the very beginning, and it will only increase exponentially once he gets his letter that bitterly cold winter morning. A part of him is excited to have more responsibility and make a name for himself. He doesn't want to ride on the coattails of his parents' greatness. He wants to climb the ladder himself and carve out his name in a way that exceeds even his parents in greatness. Yet the more cynical side of him knows that his goal is a long one. Until he graduates Hogwarts (if this ridiculous storm would ever let the owl through), Sterling knows that he will only be worth as much as his last name. He sighs and folds his hands on his lap and continues to brood, resulting in him blocking out much of the world around him.

Phoebe isn't put off by the young master's response and scuffles down the hallway to put the folder into her lady's bag before rallying the other house elves to start setting out breakfast. The dining room is relatively silent as Mrs. Kingsbury shifts through the mail that came by owl early that morning before the storm increased in severity. Sterling does his best to remain stoic as his mother meticulously reads and sorts each and every one of the letters alphabetically and by subject. She is the head secretary of the Wizengamot after all. Such things are second nature to her. He keeps telling himself that all the envelopes on the pile lack the characteristic color and thickness that Hogwarts' letters have and reprimands himself for flinching each time his mother runs the letter opener across the top of each envelope. Yet, no matter how many times he tells himself this, a quiver spikes through his body as his mother opens another letter: thick, yes, but not the parchment color of the Hogwarts' official postal papers.

Sterling grunts softly and tries desperately to think of a way to distract himself. He scowls at the snow falling outside the large, glass dining room windows. The irrational part of him begins to despise the fact that he was born on January 31 during the last few days of the final sweep of snowstorms that happen every winter. Hogwarts, situated in the woods of Scotland has a slightly different weather pattern so the owl is probably stuck in the storm somewhere along the way. That's the only explanation for the delay that he could possibly come up with. He was there in his father's study as his dad writes a letter to the Magic Use Office in the Ministry of Magic to remind those working there to be extra careful to not leave out Sterling's name when sending the list of young, eligible witches and wizards to Hogwarts. Sterling doubts that his family is the only one who sent such a letter though. Getting into a wizarding school is everything to a young wizard so Sterling wouldn't be surprised if the office gets thousands of letters every year from concerned parents of almost eleven year olds.

Mr. Kingsbury explains the acceptance letter process to Sterling just a few months ago when the boy had begun to be extra twitchy as his birthday grew closer. All young witches and wizards have the ability to tap into the core of the magical energy that resides in all living things. That's what makes Muggles and wizards different: the ability to tap into the core of magic within themselves. Because these young witches and wizards are untrained, they tend to tap into that magic when they are very emotional, causing a wave of uncontrolled magic that usually harms things and people around them hence the need for magical training. The Office of Improper Use of Magic keeps track of the individual cases where the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad has to undo the mess that was made by an underaged wizard or witch. That's why Muggleborns are not arrested or institutionalized since the Reversal Squad changes the Muggles' memories about what happened. Because of this, the Improper Use of Magic Office has the best record of potential candidates for Hogwarts' letters and sends new lists to Dumbledore in September for the following year's first year class. It's a complicated, somewhat convoluted system, but it works so Sterling's not complaining….much. If only the owls wouldn't take so long to deliver the letters, but again, Sterling's not complaining….much.

"Good morning, Mother!" 8 year old Caroline calls out cheerily as she enters the dining room, her blonde curls neatly pulled into a ponytail with the help of her house elf Fauna. "Good morning, Big Brother." she greets with another dazzling smile, her emerald green eyes twinkling delightedly as she settles into the chair next to Sterling. Being the good but somewhat standoffish older brother that he is, Sterling gives his sister a brief smile and a nod. Since they were toddlers, Caroline has been practically attached to her older brother, especially after Sterling defends her from some bullies using accidental magic.

Sterling actually remembers every single magical incident that he's ever done, mainly because they are few and far between. He wasn't a very fussy child, much to his parents' relief, which resulted in few incidents emotional enough to make him use accidental magic, but he does tend to be rather stubborn so magical accidents weren't as rare as they could have been. When his mother wisely withheld her wand from his chubby, toddler grasp, he promptly set the wand on fire in retaliation. Thankfully, wands are made of sturdier wood that most other objects with a resistance to magical damage so his mother's wand functions just as well as it did before after the incident. He also recalls he and his little sisters playing in the park one day with other pureblood families when a boy his age kicks sand into his sister Caroline's eyes, making her cry. Sterling vaguely remembers shouting at the boy to "eat sand, you twit!" before a wave of sand crashes into the target of Sterling's 6 year old wrath. It was after that incident that Caroline became his second shadow.

In all honesty, even if Sterling doesn't remember his magical accidents that cement his chances of getting a letter, his parents do. Most parents make scrapbooks for their children or albums. Sterling's parents decide to be innovative and combine an album with a scrapbook with detailed documentation from at least two witnesses of every magical accident of each of their three children's lives. No child of theirs will be overlooked by some magical school.

Rat-tat-tat.

Sterling jerks from his thoughts and turns to large window once again to see a half frozen owl tapping furiously at the glass to be allowed in. Losing his mature and calm aura, Sterling jumps from his chair, allowing the intricate wooden seat to tumble to the ground in his mad dash to open the window. He vaguely registers the fact that Phoebe and several other house elves have entered with breakfast and more are coming in with right the chair and to take care of the owl that he's allowing in. Gingerly unlatching a window pane closest to the poor bird, Sterling's nose begins to run at the vicious blast of cold air that rushes in along with Hogwarts' messenger who makes himself at home on Sterling's now righted chair. Sterling quickly pulls the pane closed once more before walking back to his seat. His lips quirk upwards at the sight of Blakely, his own personal house elf, vehemently scolding the owl who has dropped off the letter on the chair's cushion and is how preening his ruffled feathers from his perch on the back of Sterling's seat.

"That is Young Master's chair! You mustn't preen on it! You are dripping all over the dining room floor. What if Young Master trips? You'll be to blame you silly, nasty owl!" Blake berates sternly, his hands gesturing passionately as he glares up at the large snowy owl who just gives him a droll expression before conceding to the scolding and uses the chair a few seats down from Sterling's as a preening perch. Blake huffs but allows the bird to do so since the elderly Kingsbury couple is away on business and wouldn't be joining the main family in their usual seats that morning. He straightens the newsboy cap perched on his head and adjusts the grey collared shirt and simple blue pants that Sterling personally had gifted him when he first became the boy's personal house elf. He may have gotten a bit too passionate as he shoos off the owl, but it's for the young master so Blake doesn't mind if his feathers get a bit ruffled too.

"Thank you for your concern Blake, but I think a little water wouldn't be a problem." Sterling says, doing his best to remain calm as he has been taught since childhood as he scoops up his letter and sits back down into his seat.

"Mark, please fetch our owl feed for our latest guest. We treat guests properly in this house after all, wizard or animal." Mrs. Kingsbury says kindly, giving a small smile on the owl. Despite of her calm outer appearance, she had been getting more and more anxious by the minute as the letter was further delayed. If the owl hadn't come when it did, she would've used Floo powder after breakfast to head to the Ministry of Magic and give the Improper Use of Magic Office's manager a piece of her mind. And anyone on the receiving end of Mrs. Kingsbury's wrath most certainly regrets their life choices.

"Mark would be happy to, Milady." the gangly elf in question states immediately, straightening his vest that he's quite proud of before dashing off.

Sterling bites his lip to keep from commenting. _Except Muggles or Muggleborns_ , he murmurs mentally. He knows that his mother is much fairer and less ruthless than most pureblood Slytherin for the most part, probably due to his Gryffindor father's influence, but his father, also a pureblood, has little to no knowledge of Muggles and hardly any friends who are Muggleborn simply because he has yet to run into one that he clicked well with so there has never been a reason for his mum to change her views towards them. Sterling himself isn't sure what to think either. While he views them as human just like himself which is better than some pureblood supermists can say, he can't help but feel a bit superior to them simply because he has yet to see a Muggleborn in a position of power in the Ministry of Magic, the highest positions available in the magical community of the UK in Sterling's opinion. The only problem is that his conscious hisses whenever such a superior rises up in his head as if condemning those thoughts. Sterling doesn't know any Muggleborns, much less Muggles, and he's somewhat afraid of meeting some when he goes to Hogwarts.

"Sterling? Quit biting your lip. It's unbecoming of the Kingsbury heir." his mother corrects sternly before nodding to Lisa who is setting the main course in front of her: eggs benedict on top of a sausage patty with mushroom and tomatoes sauteed lightly on top of two slightly toasted pieces of french bread. As a side are plain scones with raspberry jam that pair perfectly well with their Earl Grey tea.

Sterling immediately obeys his mother's command and mutters a softly sorry before ducking his head to enjoy his meal, missing her disapproving frown at his muttering. Sterling is only done with his first piece of bread when his father sweeps into the room looking slightly sleep deprived with his equally tired looking youngest sister, 4 year old Elisabeth, in his arms. Unlike her serious older brother or her energetic older sister, Elisabeth is an incredibly lazy child, partly due to the fact that she's anemic, a character trait that runs on their mother's side of the family. Easy-going and peaceable, she has yet to show any signs of an emotional surge that would register her in the Improper Use of Magic office's lists. While Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury are somewhat worried, Elisabeth is only 4 so she'd probably have a year or so before they really start getting worried. Judging from the 4 year old's lazy pair of green eyes, however, she'd probably remain completely unbothered by the entire situation even if her parents start fussing. That's just the kind of kid she is.

Mr. Kingsbury deposits Elisabeth next to his wife, pressing a kiss on his daughter's unruly brown curls and his wife's painted lips, before settling down into his own seat. Kenneth, his father's personal house elf, rushes to the man's side and sets down next to his chair a packed lunch and a large thermos of gourmet, extremely strong coffee. "Thank you, Kenneth. You're as sharp as always. Without you, I'd probably fall asleep on my missions or while in the middle of those blasted mountains of paperwork." Mr. Kingsbury praises with a laugh, causing the small elf wearing a simple button down and a belt to flush proudly.

"Thank you, Master. It's my pleasure to serve you." he replies humbly, bowing before excusing himself so the family can eat breakfast in peace.

Mr. Kingsbury's sharp eyes immediately target the thick letter sitting partially hidden in Sterling's lap. "Oh ho! Is that a Hogwarts letter I see? Sterling, why have you not opened it?" he asks, a twinkle of pride and excitement in his eyes that makes Sterling smile slightly.

"I was waiting for you, Dad."

"Ah, thank you for doing so. I'd be most upset if I were to miss something as great as this." Mr. Kingsbury nods emphatically before motioning for Sterling to break the seal. "Go ahead, Son. I've kept you waiting long enough."

Sterling gulps and looks nervously down at the letter in his hands, running his hands over the calligraphy spelling out _his name,_ not his father's or mother's but his.

 _Mr. S. Kingsbury_

 _The Bedroom Facing North on the Third Floor_

 _4 Rouncil Lane._

 _Warwickshire, England_

A proud smile stretches across his face before he quickly breaks the seal with a few swipes of clumsy, shaking fingers. His cheeks redden slightly at how his entire body trembles at such a simple act, but his father's warm smile and his mother's encouraging nod pushes him on to pull out the acceptance letter. Caroline is practically vibrating with excitement next to him while Elisabeth blinks slowly from across the table, a bit more awake than she was before.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

 _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr. Kingsbury,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

It's finally here, his letter. Sterling couldn't help but breakout in a large smile as he reads the acceptance letter for the fourth time. Sure, it isn't a huge accomplishment, but it's the first accomplishment that has been entirely due to his talents and not his parents connections. Using connections to gain access into Hogwarts after being denied for any reason is a capital offence in the wizarding world, and Sterling couldn't help but feel nervous since he's never done anything that his parents couldn't help him in.

Then, a thought enters his mind, and he couldn't help but voice it after seeing his parents' proud smiles as he reads his acceptance letter outloud. "Dad, Mum, what house do you think I'll be in? What house do you think is best?"

His father chuckles and shakes his head. "Well, your mother and I have very different views on which house is best." he says mischievously while his wife scoffs.

"What's so good about bravery without cunning?" she sniffs softly, but a small smile spreads across her face at fond memories.

Mr. Kingsbury laughs and shakes his head. "That's why I married you." he responds teasingly before turning back to his son. "The point I'm trying to make is that the hat knows what it's doing. It will pick the house that is best for you."

"All we ask is that you excel in whatever house you are placed in." Mrs. Kingsbury adds softly. "Do what you love, whether it be Quidditch or academics, but whatever you do, you'd better do it with the Kingsbury tenacity. Others may think of school as a playground, but-"

"Kingsburys never leave anything but excellence on the table." Sterling finishes dutifully, feeling somewhat relieved and somewhat anxious for a whole other reason all together. While he isn't self-conscious, he has never been able to measure his talents up against other children his age, spending most of his time with adults and being groomed to take over the Kingsbury legacy when he's older. _No matter where I measure up, no matter where I am, I'll just prove to everyone that I can excel. While I may lack in raw talent and ability, no one will beat me in hard work._ Sterling thinks in determination before his father breaks his thoughts.

"Sterling, I want you to promise me one more thing."

"Yes, Father?" Sterling asks, sitting up a bit.

"I want you to not be consumed by your house." Sterling notices his mother stiffening and giving her husband a stern look, but Mr. Kingsbury is unphased and keeps his strong gaze on his son, matching grey eyes locked in a staredown. "The moment you enter Hogwarts, you will notice that there is a mold that you will be expected to conform to depending on your house. There are very little variations to that mold, but I fear that none of the molds fit you, my son."

Sterling stiffens, suddenly afraid that he may not be able to be sorted into a house. If no house fits him, could the sorting hat fail to sort him at all, and he must return home a failure? _Never. I'll figure out a way to trick the sorting hat if I have to. I can't let my future end before it starts!_ Sterling hisses mentally, already planning to research the sorting hat as much as possible after breakfast. His posture relaxes slightly as the plan solidifies into his head.

"Sterling," his father calls, getting his attention once more. Sterling jolts because the look in his father's eyes seem to declare that the older man knows exactly what's going on in Sterling's head right now. "You will be sorted into a house." Mr. Kingsbury begins, firmly stating the facts to alleviate Sterling's mounting concerns. "But I don't want to lose my son to that house. Yes, your house is your family for the next seven years, but your house cannot consume you. I don't want a textbook Slytherin or Gryffindor coming home for Christmas. I want my son, braver and more cunning than before coming home to tell your mother and myself and your sisters all about the great things you've learned and done that semester. All I ask is that above all else, you protect who you are from others' influence. Never do I want you to look in the mirror and not know the person looking back at you. Am I understood?"

Sterling nods mutely, a wave of appreciation overwhelms him. He has to bow his head and blink rapidly to not cry because he has never been more thankful for his family than at that point. "Thank you," he croaks out softly once he's gathered himself enough to not cry into his breakfast.

"No, thank you for being a son we can be proud of." Mrs. Kingsbury says fiercely, a rare smile lighting up her entire face. There's a hint of challenge in that smile, as if she dares anyone to deny how amazing her son is. "And happy birthday Sterling."

"Happy birthday, Big Brother!"

"Happy birthday, Son,"

"Yay….."

* * *

 _Whew! Another chapter in the bag! Now, there's only one more intro chapter to go._

 **Then, we promise that the story will proceed. Actually, come to think of it, the story moves on pretty quickly after the intro chapters. Right Erin?**

 _Huh, yeah, you're right. I guess these kids attract trouble just as easily as the Golden Trio do._

 **Ha! No kidding! Either way, thank you for reading these chapters so far and for remaining interested! You're patience will be rewarded eventually. We've got some big plans for this story.**

 _No, kidding. Goodness, these plans are so huge, I'm surprised we even got the never to try and tackle it even after we cut down the plan a little bit._

 **Eh. We've always been crazy like that so I don't find it all that surprising.**

 _True. True. Anyways, see you guys next week with the final main character introduction!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello readers! It's Erin and we're back at last with the last character introduction of the story_

 **Yeah, sorry we were gone so long. School happened, the hurricane happened, and let's just say we had other priorities. Either way, we hope that this chapter was worth the wait. This is a fun character, isn't it Erin?**

 _I definitely think so, Ro. This group of friends just wouldn't be the same without him!_

 **Well, we won't keep you waiting any longer with idle chitchat. We apologize for the shortness, but life has been pretty crazy. Well, college in general is crazy, with or without intense weather. Anyways, here is the final character intro!**

 _We'll hopefully be back sometime next week with the first story building chapter. Thanks for the patience!_

 **Enjoy!**

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 _ **Chapter 4: The Luck of the Irish**_

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Finn Callaghan awakes on a late November morning to the first faint rays of sunlight streaming through his bedroom window. He lies there for a while, debating whether he should get up or not. His father was probably still asleep after his evening shift at the bank, and he can see his little brother Caden's small form rising and falling in the bed across from his. Finn smiles a little at the sight of the peaceful little boy. He doesn't really mind Caden sharing a room with him Even though they had enough bedrooms to give Caden his own. After Mum died his nightmares had been so bad that every night he'd run to Finn's room for comfort. Eventually it just became easier to let him stay there. Finn had been perfectly happy with the arrangement. The few nights of being alone in his room, knowing that Mum wouldn't be there when he woke up, were pure torture for him.

Caden could have gone to Oscar, though it was no wonder that he didn't. His sixteen-year brother had always been a troublemaker, but after Mum died his antics had gotten completely out of control. He had been expelled from Hogwarts last year after using the Imperius Curse on Professor McGonagall to get her to change his grade. When Finn found out that Oscar had used an Unforgivable Curse, he was absolutely horrified. Though Father is a Muggle and didn't quite understand the gravity of what Oscar had done, it was still apparent he was severely disappointed in his son. Since then, Oscar had been attending the local high school, pretending to be a Muggle and failing nearly all of his subjects. It was one of Finn's biggest wishes that he would have a change of heart and be accepted back into Hogwarts so then Finn have someone to look up to this year.

Finn snorts at the thought. _Oscar, someone to look up to?_ He must still be dreaming. The soft ticking of the clock at the corner of the room starts to lull Finn back to sleep, but he sits up, resisting it. He didn't want to miss the owl carrying his Hogwarts Acceptance Letter. When Oscar had gotten his, he'd overslept and Caden had gotten a hold of it. He had only been four at the time, and Finn remembered him scampering around the house and shrieking with laughter, the letter clenched tightly in his chubby fists. Oscar had gotten so angry that he let of a storm of accidental magic, making books leap out of the cases that lined the one wall of the room they used as an office. Mum had had to snatch Caden out of the way so he wouldn't get pelted by the stream of books. Finn shudders at the memory. No, he would be the one to get his letter. He and he alone.

Deciding he can't wait any longer, Finn sits up and rolls his legs over to the side of the bed, getting up as softly as he can so as not to wake Caden. He hastily pulls on a pair of jeans and a heavy sweatshirt because the air in the harbor town of Galway can get quite chilly towards wintertime. Brushing his dirty blonde bangs out of his eyes, he stands there with his toes curling around the soft carpet as he thinks of what to do. If he went out the front door, he would surely wake his Father, and he was even grumpier in the morning because he's so tired from work. But if he went out his window and climbed down the tree outside, then he would wake Caden.

 _Caden won't mind_ , he decides and pulls on his gray dirt-streaked trainers and crosses over to the middle window between his and Caden's bed. He unlocks the wooden latch with a soft click and grabs the bottom of the frame to pull it up, his good leg bearing the weight under him as he thrusts it open. The screeching sound reminds Finn of an injured Hippogriff, and sure enough, Caden sits straight up in bed and squints at his brother, who already has one leg out the window.

"Where are ya goin', Finn?" he asks, his voice hoarse from sleep. He rubs his eyes tiredly.

"Just out to the garden. Go back to sleep Caden."

"Can I go with ya?" he asks, a hopeful lilt in his voice.

"No, no." Finn shakes his head adamantly, pulling his other leg out through the window. "Can't have Dad thinkin' we both ran away. Just tell him I'm out in the garden. He won't get mad at ya, I promise."

"Okay." 8 year old Caden seems to accept the arrangement and lies back down, burying himself under his gray quilt once more. Finn breathes a sigh of relief as he watches his brother close his eyes once again. His dad doesn't like him sneaking out the window cause he fears that he'll take off like Oscar always does, but Finn would never do that. He just likes to be outside.

"Happy Birthday, Finn." Caden's little voice carries from inside the bedroom and Finn ducks his head back inside once more and smiles at his brother, who still had his face turned from Finn.

"Thanks, Caden." He says before closing the window behind him.

Squatting on the top tree branch and digging his trainers into it for support, Finn gazes down at the wild brush below him that creeps lazily along the side of their house. He hadn't attempted the climb down in a while because of his bad leg, but his limp has steadily gotten better over time so he just has to try again. Finn grits his teeth in concentration as his right leg finds a sturdy branch under him that supports his weight, and he pulls his less useful left leg after it, trying not to get it entangled in the leafy mess that is the oak tree. Smiling with his success, he repeats the process a couple more times until he reaches a safe jumping off distance, and launches his feet of the woody branch.

"Ow," Finn hisses through his teeth as he collapses into the patch of weeds below. Falling right on his butt was not exactly a graceful landing but better than landing on his leg or his head or something. He shudders, imagining the look that would be on his dad's face if he had to come rescue him. He had enough trouble to deal with already. Slowly standing to his feet, Finn hastily wipes off the dirt and dew-soaked weeds that clung to his jeans and shivers from the chilly breeze that sweeps across him. He walks around for a while, breathing in the fresh scent of the morning air. His heart starts to ache as it always does when he's alone, and he reprimands himself for not going out the front door so he could let his Golden Retriever Rory outside.

Rory enjoyed playing with Finn, but the big old dog was always a bit lazy in the morning anyway. Finn sighs, turning his attention back to the tall oak he had climbed out of. On the top branch, he can see a brownish furry little squirrel gazing down at him with beady black eyes, and Finn suddenly gets an idea. He crouches to the ground, the heels of his trainers digging into the soft dirt and chooses an acorn from the array of tiny objects that had fallen to the ground from the tree. Holding his hand up in the air, he waves the acorn in front of the squirrel teasingly. "You want this?" He asks, continuing to twirl it around.

The squirrel's eyes dart back and forth, tracing the acorn's erratic movement through the air. It then stares directly at Finn, eyes gleaming, as if it's saying, _Yes, what do you think?_

"Well, come and get it then!" He cackles and whips around, tearing off through the garden. The squirrel wastes no time and scampers down the tree and after Finn, catching up with his awkward run in minimal time. Finn yelps and then doubles over with laughter as the squirrel meanders up his back and onto his shoulders, its little feet tickling him relentlessly . Finn holds his hand out, and the squirrel goes to grab at the acorn greedily.

"Ah-ah-ah. I won't be givin' it to you that easy. You have to ask!" The squirrel, looking indignant, gazes from the acorn to Finn, the acorn to Finn and back again. Finally, it holds its little paws up together in front of him as if to say, _please?,_ and Finn opens his hand once more.

The furry creature leaps down to Finn's open palm and scoops up the acorn, barely brushing his hand in the process. It then jumps to the ground and does a little dance around the boy, satisfied with his prize. It tilts its little head to the side as if to say _thank you!_ and then hops a couple times more before taking off running through the garden.

Finn sighs and stands back up, imagining he must look rather silly. Nobody talks to squirrels, nobody in their right mind anyway. But Finn has always had a way with animals. His mum used to say that even when he was a baby, they were drawn to him for some reason she couldn't explain. Ever since he could remember, Finn had wanted to be a Magizoologist, and his mum had always encouraged him to follow that dream wherever it led him. She'd bought him Rory and even agreed went along with him when he said that he wanted to be a vegetarian. Dad would just kind of look at him strangely when he acted this way around animals. Finn supposed his mum understood him better because she was a witch, and she used to be in Hufflepuff, the house Finn desperately hoped to be sorted into. He missed his mum.

"Finny! FINNY!" Finn whirls around at the sound of Caden's squeaky voice piercing the air. "You'll be wantin' to come inside, Finny! Your letter!" Finn whips around, mouth dropping open in shock as he catches the sight of Caden dangling a gleaming white envelope just outside the bedroom window upstairs, giggling in delight.

"Caden, nooo! That's mine!" Finn returns his voice, horrified at the fact that the owl had slipped by him unnoticed. _Not again!_ "Come on Finny! Come inside!" His brother squeals and disappears from the window and Finn suddenly understands how the squirrel felt when he was teasing him with the acorn. Running around towards the front of the house as fast as he can, he climbs the brick entryway stairs and thrusts open the wooden door.

"CADEN!" He yells as he kicks off his trainers at the mat by his door, forgetting to be quiet. "CADEN, I'M GONNA KILL YOU! YOU BETTER BE GIVIN' ME THAT LETTER RIGHT NOW"

"Hold on now, nobody's givin' anybody anythin' just yet." Finn feels sick at the sound of his father's low voice, as if he'd eaten a whole tub of pumpkin pasties all at once.

"Dad, I'm so sorry, I.."

"You know I work late, Finn, and here you go anyway, scarin' me half to death in the wee hours of the mornin'. If Caden hadn't told me you were out in the garden.."

"You woulda thought I'd be runnin' away like Oscar does, I know. But Dad, I was just.."

"I don't want to hear any of your bloody excuses, Finn. You can't just go runnin' off like that!" His dad doesn't raise his voice at all, but the words cut deep into Finn's heart all the same. He dares to look up at him, at his dad's tall lanky frame in the doorway of his bedroom. His dad's brown but graying hair is tousled from sleep, and dark circles pool around his deep blue eyes. He looks tired. He always looks tired. The silence that follows is thick and uncomfortable like a scratchy wool blanket, and it presses around him. He hates silence.

"Dad.."

"This won't happen again, Finn." His father says definitively, gazing at Finn with the sternest of looks.

"No-no, dad, it won't." Finn replies, his voice smaller than he would have liked.

"You best be givin' him his letter, Caden. " His dad turns his attention to his guilty looking brother, who was standing on the first step of the carpeted staircase, twirling a finger nervously through his unruly mop of blonde curls.

"Yes, dad." He says in a serious tone, and hands Finn the white envelope, crinkled at the sides from where Caden had been gripping it. Finn takes the letter protectively under his arm, and places the payment for it in the talons of the small barn owl that had delivered it to him. The owl hoots gratefully, and maybe Finn was imagining it, but the second hoot that the owl gave before taking of through the open front window sounded an awful lot like, " _I'm sorry."_

Shaking his head, Finn turns his attention back to the white envelope in his sweaty palms and the inscription on the front

 _Mr. F. Callaghan_

 _The Bedroom at the Top of the Stairs_

 _84 Riverbend Drive_

 _Galway, Ireland_

"Go on, Finn! Open it! I want to see!" Caden squeaks, his joyful tone returning, and Finn casts a sheepish glance toward the doorway where his father had just been standing. He had already gone back to bed. Finn's heart sinks a little when he realizes his dad hasn't even said happy birthday to him.

Finn sighs and then looks at his brother's pleading teal eyes. A teasing grin passes over his face. "Ya know, I was thinkin' of lettin' you see it, but thieves don't deserve to see what they've stolen."

"Yeah, they do, cause they know their brother loves them so much he just can't keep himself from lettin' them look." Mischief dances in Caden's eyes.

"I wouldn't let you see it if you gave me a lifetime supply of Bertie Bott's." Finn shoots back as he tears open the letter and sits down on the bottom step, but he doesn't push Caden away when he sits down next to him and cranes his neck over to see what was inside.

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

 _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Mr. Callaghan,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Finn sighs and takes out his list of supplies from behind the acceptance letter, a real smile crossing his face. September couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

 _And there you have it! The Platinum Quartet is complete!_

 **Um, Erin, are you sure you're not copying J.K. Rowling there? Platinum Quartet sounds a lot like Golden Trio.**

 _But the characters are so different! And besides, this is Fan fiction! We're stealing a lot more than just that from her! Except the amazing plot twists!_

 **Well, I suppose you are right about that. Be sure to come back next week if life doesn't blow up in our faces when the plot actually gets going, and the four characters meet for the first time!**

 _Yeah, you won't want to miss that! Be sure to leave a comment on which character's your favorite. Mine's Finn by the way._

 **Aren't you a bit biased though...**

 _Yeah...I guess I am since he and Kylie are my characters._

 **Yes, we do tend to like our own characters. I'm no different with Sterling and Anne. Haha! Anyway, see you soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello again, faithful readers! It's me, Erin!_

 ** _And Ro!_**

 _And we're back with yet another installment in our adventure! Sorry if we're being a little inconsistent, but life is busy.._

 ** _It definitely is. But, as promised, in this chapter the 4 characters will finally meet for the first time!_**

 _Finally! And now they are fully immersed in the wizarding world so you may see some familiar faces!_

 ** _This is FanFiction after all. Not all of our characters are original._**

 _But you'll have to keep coming back to find out just who these four friends will run into! Until then, enjoy!_

 _Chapter 5: The Friends in Diagon Alley_

On August 1, Diagon alley, the premiere British wizarding store hub, is filled with people, more so than normal. It is because August 1 marks the beginning of the 20% off everything sale in Diagon Alley for back to school students. Many families crowd the stores to get the first stock of the newest back to school merchandise. There are young children running around shouting various items on their lists or exclaiming over the new brooms or pets. There are parents trying to haggle further in some smaller shops or reign in their children. All in all, Diagon Alley is bright, different, loud, and crowded.

Basically, Anne's worst nightmare.

The moment that her grandfather hands over a small gold coin as well as her acceptance letter to a wily looking old man in a tiny little tavern, Anne knows that she's going to regret insisting on going to buy her school supplies on the first day. She honestly just wanted to get the ordeal over with and spend the rest of her summer recovering and preparing herself mentally to leave home to an even bigger, stranger place. However, she's already queasy and weak-kneed at the small interactions she has with the residents in the Leaky Cauldron. When the old shop owner leads them out into the alleyway behind the store, Anne's jumpy enough to unleash some Tai Chi on the man and making a run for it. Thankfully, her grandmother has a firm grip on her wrist, and Anne is quickly distracted by the brick wall literally unfolding before her eyes.

"Whoa…." she whispers softly, stepping closer to examine the moving bricks and brush her fingers gingerly on them as they roll back.

"Haha! So the little witch does have a tongue. I was concerned that she was mute, Yixing." Tom, the inn's owner cackles. Yixing watches proudly as Anne taps at the now stationary bricks, having completely blocked out everything beyond the little brick archway in front of her. It's his wife Mei who answer though.

"A careful tongue goes far beyond a wagging one." she huffs lightly, grabbing Anne's shoulder and ushering her forward. "Come along, Child. We've got a long list to pick up."

"B-but Grandmother, I need to ask Mr. Tom how he did that! He didn't wave his wand or say anything! Is that how all magic works? Is it all in our heads?" Anne whines, craning her neck around her grandmother to try and see the cackling Tom or her grandfather shuffling sedately behind them.

"Read about it in the books your buying, Kid! Just make sure to go to the bank first!" Tom calls out behind him before he closes the archway safely.

"Books...I really am going to this school to learn magic." Anne murmurs softly, the reality of everything finally sinking in. She grips both her grandparents' hands tightly, wishing that her brother and parents could be there as well, but since they didn't know how much the books would cost, they had taken out a large sum of their savings in hopes that they would be enough after the money exchange. Because of this, Mr. and Mrs. Le couldn't afford to miss a day of work, and Landon's boss is a jerk and wouldn't let him have a day off since school would be starting soon for him too so he'd be switching to part time once the school year begins.

The noise of the crowd reach her ears as she leaves the little covered walkway area in the beginning of the alley. The wave of cacophony crashes into her as strong as any tidal wave could, making her gasp and rip her hands from her grandparents' grip to slam them over her ears as she drops into a squat in the middle of the sidewalk. She desperately tries to coach herself into breathing evenly, but she can't block out the screeches of the animals and shouts of strangers flowing over her like she can the sight of them. Her world grows more and more muddled as panic begins to set in, but then, she smells earth and home wrapped tightly around her, shielding her from all sides. Slowly her world comes back into focus.

"Is she ok?" She doesn't recognize this voice.

"She's afraid of crowds." Was that Grandfather?

"Ah, I see. May I help?" It's a different voice from the first one. How many strangers are nearby?

"What are you doing to do?" That's most definitely Grandmother. Even in her panic, Anne can recognize her protective voice anywhere.

"It's a simple tonic that my wife makes. I find it a great reliever of anxiety." Oh! That does sound rather nice, but Anne knows better to accept just anything from strangers.

"How much do we owe you if we take this?" Grandfather's trusting these people?

"Nothing, you're granddaughter is the same age as my daughter. They could be housemates. Besides, I'm a Healer. I cannot turn my back on a person in need." A girl her age? A friend perhaps? A classmate at least?

"I see. Thank you. Sapling, Sapling."

Anne sniffles and blinks away her tears, blearily realizing that she's currently in her grandmother's lap with her grandfather clutching her ankles firmly to keep her grounded. Above them is a tall, smart looking man in clothes simple but clearly high quality. Beside him stands is a kind and attentive looking woman with hair neatly pulled back from her face with a large clip that's probably worth more than the dress Anne has on right now. Hiding behind her father's legs and her mother's skirt is a girl about her age, large curious blue eyes staring back at her in concern. Anne's cheeks immediately redden in embarrassment. She hadn't even started shopping yet, and she's already had a breakdown! How embarrassing!

"None of that, Child. You've done well up to this point. Chin up. Let's get some of this tonic in you." Mei tuts softly as if reading Anne's mind, tilting her grandaughter's chin up with a finger to wipe away her tears with a handkerchief. Yixing holds a slender bottle in his hands, popping off the cork and taking a cautious sniff. He closes his eyes and sniffs deeper before nodding.

"Hm, chamomile, mint, lavender, a touch of lilac, bits of honeydew, and a touch of matcha. A truly calming blend indeed, and with the proper incantation to imbue magical qualities, yes, this truly is high quality potion making." Yixing hums in appreciation, ignoring the shocked look that he gets from the family standing above them as he hands Anne the drink. "All of it, Sapling."

Anne crinkles her nose slightly in suspicion but at the calming scent downs the entire bottle in just a few gulps. She feels her body tingle and shed its tension with a few shivers before she finds herself in a much clearer state of mind. She blinks in astonishment at the tonic bottle in her hand still before looking up at the woman and man in front of her. Remembering her manners, she climbs out of her grandmother's lap and respectfully bows a 90 degree angle before both of them. "Thank you very much. I don't think I'd ever be able to make it through today without your help. Truly, thank you."

The man and woman seem surprised and rather awkward at the sudden formality and gratitude and just wave it off. "It's fine. Like my husband said, we're just looking out for those in need. I'm glad you're doing much better. I take it that you're a first year with my daughter?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Yah! Child, introductions!" Mei tuts softly, gently prodding Anne in the back as a reminder. Anne jumps since she's ticklish there, and her grandmother knows it. Pouting at her grandmother momentarily, Anne turns back to the family and bobs in a small bow again.

"My name is Anne Le. I will be a first year at Hogwarts this coming fall. This is my grandfather Yixing Wang and my grandmother Mei Wang. We're on our way to the bank for the money exchange. Oh!" Anne suddenly realizes that she's holding onto the bottle still. "Here's your bottle back."

"Oh no, Dear. That little thing is disposable. While it may look avaluable, it's made of plastic." the woman says with a good-natured laugh before tugging her daughter forward. "Go on and introduce yourself, Ky."

"Oh, um, hi." the girl her age says with a small, slightly awkward wave. Anne responds with an equally awkward smile. It seems like both aren't the greatest social butterflies out there. Anne internally sighs in relief, and it seems her potential new friend does the same. "My name is Kylie Bennett. These are my parents, Healer Bruce Bennett and Rebecca Bennett. It's nice to meet you, ah, Anne…"

"Le. It sounds like Lee but is spelled like the French article le." Anne supplies helpfully, knowing that her Vietnamese last name isn't the easiest to pronounce at first glance despite of its simple spelling.

Kylie smiles in relief, glad that the other girl didn't take offense to her not knowing her last name. Feeling a bit more confident, Kylie continues her introduction. "Wow! That's pretty cool! I don't know a lick of French so that's a cool trivia fact I now know. Thanks! Is it ok if I just call you by your first name though? I mean, if we're going to be friends in all, I thought it'd make sense."

Anne shrugs and nods easily. "Sure. I don't really mind. I'll just call you Kylie in return, yeah?"

"It's a deal." Kylie replies happily. "Anyways, it's my first year at Hogwarts too, but we're from a pureblood family so we don't need to exchange our money." Kylie explains, trailing off as she is unsure of how to continue this conversation. She's never been good at small talk.

"Wait, pureblood? Does that mean that you come from a long line of witches and wizards?" Anne asks curiously, unable to contain her excited curiosity. All this magic stuff makes her head spin like a top so she couldn't possibly imagine living with all this all the time.

"Yeah, our family mainly consists of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs." Kylie explains but stops at the utterly confused look that Anne's giving her. "Er, well, those are houses at Hogwarts. Sorry. I've never had a Muggleborn friend before so it's hard to remember that all this is new to you. Still though, it's super cool that you can use magic even though your parents are Muggles." Kylie says with a grin, glad that Anne's surprisingly not that hard to talk to despite of their very different backgrounds.

"Oh! I don't know what I'm doing." Anne admits with an embarrassed laugh and a wave of her hand. "Grandfather is a druid so he's been trying to teach me simple things about magic in general, but he's not a wizard so I am so clueless about actual spells and stuff."

"Whoa! You're part druid? That's so cool! Their nature magic is unrivaled in the magical world. No incantations, no wands, very little hand waving, yet nature just bends to their will. They are like the best Herbologists out there!" Kylie exclaims excitedly, turning her attention to a very amused Yixing. "Becoming an Herbologist is my dream! I have so many questions about magical plants."

"Haha! Well, young one, I will answer one day, but my magic is different from yours. We druids do not use magic to bend our surroundings to our will. Our magic coaxes and speaks to the nature around us and brings our surroundings to listen to our desires. Because it lacks wand work and incantations, what I can tell you is limited. Sapling here will be your best bet for an Herbology partner." Yixing says with a wink at Anne who blushes.

"Uh, yeah, that'd be the case if I was any good at gardening." Anne mutters softly under her breath, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about her failure as a gardener. Kylie wilts slightly at the wise old man's words but shrugs it off quickly.

"That's ok. Anne and I will learn a ton about Herbology at Hogwarts. Professor Sprout is supposedly one of Europe's leading experts in the field." Kylie explains enthusiastically, making Anne's eyes light up.

"Really? Can you tell me more about the teachers or Hogwarts in general? Please?" Anne pauses and looks up at her grandparents guilty. "Um, do we have time? I can wait until school if we're running out of time." she offers, even though the thought of waiting an entire _month_ for answers bugs her to no end.

"How about we all go shopping together. I know some smaller paths on the side of the main alleyway that we can walk down to get to Gringotts Bank." Dr. Bennett offers easily, making the two new friends jump in delight at the prospect of shopping together.

"Thank you very much. Please, lead the way." Mei says graciously.

"So what owl delivered your letter?" Kylie asks as the two families reach the front door of Gringotts to exchange the wad of Muggle paper money for a bag of Wizard galleons. "Mine was a really sweet barn owl."

"Screech owl for me." Anne says, immediately lowering her voice upon seeing the goblins eyeing their group. "I was honestly terrified of him." Unlike outside in the alley, Anne doesn't feel any anxiety in the bank. The atmosphere is quiet, and while the goblins are less than friendly, they are few in number which is what really matters when it comes to her anxiety. Anne's pretty sure that her claustrophobia plays a part as well. The group arrives at an open desk halfway into the large hall; the goblin immediately eyes Healer Bennett.

"Friends of yourself, Healer?"

"Ah, yes. We're helping them out since this is their first time at Diagon Alley. Sylvester, meet the Le family. Little Anne here is going to be in Kylie's class in Hogwarts this year." Bruce explains easily to the goblin who leans forward into his chair to look at Anne staring right back at him with wide eyes.

"Pleasure." Sylvester states with as much emotion as a blank wall before turning to his records. "It would be best to open an account under Miss Anne Le's name then since she is the only magical creature of the family."

"Ah, yes about that. I have set aside a tenth of my life savings to kick start my granddaughter's account. Could you look up the name Yixing Wang?" Yixing asks, extending a key that he's been keeping in his pocket.

The goblin looks surprised but takes the key and reads the inscribed number on the end of it before looking at the records. "Ah, druid. Yes, yes, I see the money now. I'll set up the new account and vault for her with that money and simply just exchange the money you currently have on you into galleons. Will that do?"

"Most certainly." Yixing replies lightly, signing his name on the required lines before handing over the muggle cash they had brought along. "We will be back to exchange back any money that we don't use later this afternoon."

"I will be waiting then." the goblin replies, locking away the bills and handing the old druid a bag of galleons, sickles, and knuts.

After that quick exchange, Anne gives her grandfather a tight hug before they all head out of the bank, completely overwhelmed at how far ahead her grandfather had planned for her future. "Thank you Grandfather for everything you've done for me."

Yixing chuckles and pats Anne's head gently. "That's what grandfather's do for their little saplings." he crows softly, pushing Anne towards Kylie so they could continue chatting. It wouldn't do for Anne to remain too rooted into the soils of Durham. Yixing's heard the trees whispers amongst themselves and fears that a storm may be coming before his sapling is ready. He is broken from his solemn thoughts by a small hand in his own spindly one. Glancing to his left, he sees his wife looking up at him with her sharp gaze before returning to gaze at the youngsters in front of them. Yixing smiles softly and squeezes her hand as they shuffle along after the group quietly. No words are needed. They've been together too long to rely on words alone, and Yixing feels the worries slowly diminish because he knows that he won't be protecting the little sapling alone.

Meanwhile, Anne and Kylie chat cheerily about school supplies, completely oblivious to the quiet old couple behind them. "Mum and Dad said that Madam Malkin's Robes is just around the corning from here so we're getting our robes first." Kylie says with a small disappointed frown. "I was hoping to go to Flourish and Blotts to buy books first, but I guess it makes sense to do it last since it's closest to the entrance."

"A bookstore? Oooh, your parents are smart for going there last. I'd stay in there until closing time trying to read everything in the store!" Anne admits softly with a snicker.

"Really? I read everything I can get my hands on too! But why not buy anything?" Kylie asks curiously. "Wouldn't it be easier to buy the books and read them at home with some hot chocolate or a blanket?"

Anne blushes lightly and shrugs. "I didn't really have the luxury to buy whatever book I wanted to read. That's why libraries are one of my favorite places to go."

Kylie's eyes widen in realization at her blunder, and she quickly covers her mouth. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No, no, no. It's fine. It's an honest question, and we're really different so questions are normal, right? My family's never had a ton of money to spare, but we've always had enough to keep up a warm and loving home. I'm ok with not having as much as others since I grew up with just enough."

Kylie blinks in surprise before smiling widely. "Wow, that was really mature of you. Haha! I haven't really thought that deeply about that kind of thing because our family's a bit better off than most, but that really makes me think. That's it. Whatever book you see in Flourish and Blotts later, I'll buy one for you."

"What? No, no, it's fine. You don't have to buy me anything."

"No, I insist. Think of it as a way to kickstart our friendship! Friends do things for each other after all." Kylie cheers happily. Anne lets a smile stretch slowly across her face and shakes Kylie's outstretched hand with finality.

"Ok, I accept. Feel free to bug me as much as possible about plants. I may not be as good as my grandfather is at gardening, but I have a good memory and can show you the tips and tricks he showed me. They'd be more useful in the hands of someone with a green thumb anyways."

"Deal!" Kylie declares excitedly, pulling Anne into the robe store soon after.

It's in the middle of their fitting that another family comes in after them. The haggard looking father groans softly as he steps into the room with a dirty blonde haired boy about their age leading the way and a younger looking boy with bright eyes and wild hair following closely on his heels. "I'll be with you in a minute!" Madam Malkin calls over her shoulder as she finishes the last of her notes on Anne's robe before ushering both girls to go change and bring back the robes to be magically cut and trimmed. Turning to the new family, she smiles down at the little one and ruffles his hair. "My, my, your boys are growing like weeds Mr. Callaghan." she chuckles softly as the younger boy whines about Madam Malkin messing up his hair.

"Thanks Madam Malkin. I'm here for my robes now." the elder son says with an easy-going smile.

"Ah, it's time for you to go to Hogwarts already, Finny?" Madam Malkin sighs, hands on her hips. "You're making me feel old. I remember back when you'd come in when your mum needed her robes fixed. You barely reached my knees back then." she tuts.

"Yeah, time really flies," Finn says weakly, rubbing the back of his neck while trying not to feel down for his younger brother's sake. Madam Malkin doesn't seem to notice since Anne and Kylie have returned with their robes.

"Finny, go and stand on the platform. I'll be there in a moment." Madam Malkin says, waving him to the back area before turning to the girls. "Alright, girls. Do you mind waiting a minute while I get Finny's measurements? It'd be easier for me if I do all your robes at once."

Anne and Kylie look at each other before glancing at Madam Malkin and the fidgeting boy on the platform behind them. "Sure," they both say with a shrug.

"Good, good. You two are such lovely girls. Now, come, come. You must meet Finny and his family. He'll need to be kept company as I do my measurements after all." Madam Malkin declares, bustling over to the platform that Finn is standing on. She isn't as oblivious to the boy's sad look as she had seemed and is determined to help her good friend's son be happy again. What better way to do just that than to help him make friends?

"Madam Milkin, that really isn't necessary." Finn says, trying to hide the embarrassed blush rising on his cheeks. First, Madam Malkin calls him by that silly nickname and then tells two _girls_ to keep him company. Oh the horror!

"Nonsense! Everyone needs new friends. Now, go on. Introduce yourselves, but first, arms up Finny." Madam Malkin says sternly. Finn obeys after coughing lightly behind his hand in awkward embarrassment as the two girls stare back at him, wondering who's supposed to go first.

"Um, hi. Sorry about this. My name is Finn Callaghan. I'm a half-blood, and I'm here with me dad and little brother Caden-"

"That's me!" Caden cheers loudly from his position hiding among the racks of robes.

"Caden, get back here." Mr. Callaghan says sternly, making Caden squeal and run off. The older man sighs heavily through his nose before walking off to find his hyperactive son from among the racks of robes. He runs his hand through his dark, wavy brown hair as he does so, a habit that both his son Finn and Oscar picked up as they grew up.

Anne and Kylie look at each other before back at Finn. There's a beat of silence as both girls try to telepathically tell the other to go first before Anne finally speaks up, losing the telepathic war. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Anne Le. I'm a muggleborn, and this will be my first year at Hogwarts too. My grandparents are over there." Anne says shortly, giving Finn her best smile at the end in an effort to be friendly. Finn appreciates the gesture since it shows that she's willing to try and be friendly before turning to Kylie.

"Well, I'm Kylie Bennett. I'm a first year like Anne, and I'm a pureblood." Kylie explains casually. "Um, I'm here with my parents. I guess that's it." Kylie's forehead scrunches up a little as her eyes search through the robe shop. "Did your mum not come with you?" She asks curiously. "I know mine almost didn't today. She absolutely hates shopping." Kylie says, putting dramatic emphasis on "hates."

Finn's pink-tinged cheeks seem to instantly drain of color. and he suddenly becomes very interested in the hem on his black robes.

"She's not around anymore. Bad accident a few years back." He says in a small voice, his Irish accent thicker than before. His fingers nervously twitch as he absentmindedly plays with one of the long black sleeves on his robe.

Embarrassment floods Kylie, and her cheeks turns bright red as if she had somehow stolen all the color from Finn's face. She turns to Anne with wide, frantic eyes, but her new friend's face is as pale as a sheet in horror. "I'm so sorry.. I didn't mean.. I just.." She sputters, her eyes filling with tears as they plead with Anne to help her out. Anne gulps thickly and shifts helplessly from foot to foot. Arguments she can do because she and her brother argue all the time, but this? No, Anne doesn't know how to deal with something as horrible as this. She would give Finn a hug, but she's afraid that it'd make things more awkward than it already is.

Finn lifts his eyes from his robe and smiles weakly. "No, no it's ok. I mean, I miss her a lot, but…." He clears his throat and blinks his eyes rapidly a couple times, his mind frantically searching for a change of subject. "Anyway, you're a lot nicer than the purebloods I ran into earlier today. Blonde family.. Pale too.. I don't think they been outside a day in their lives."

Kylie scrunches up her nose, her face returning to its former color as she tries to hide just how relieved she is at Finn's change of subject. "Never outside? What a boring life!"

"It doesn't sound that boring." Anne grumbles softly. "As long as you have something to do while you're inside all day,"

"But think about it. You need to go outside to get new books eventually. You'd get so bored after a while." Kylie insists until Anne slowly nods in agreement.

"I guess you're right."

"Of course! Sunshine's good for everyone. That's what I always say," Finn declares emphatically, quickly loosening up around his potential new friends.

"I take it you're an outdoors person then?" Anne asks curiously, wondering if she just somehow managed to befriend another plant fanatic.

"Yep! I love hanging out with animals. It's my dream to be a magical zoologist." Finn says with a bright smile lighting up his face.

"That's really cool! We'd probably work together one day since I want to be an Herbologist!" Kylie exclaims happily while Anne smiles sadly while fiddling with her fingers.

"I'm not exactly sure what I want to do. This entire world's really foreign to me."

"You don't need to know now, Dear. Just study hard at Hogwarts and figure it out as you go along." Madam Malkin insists before ushering Finn off the platform. "Take that robe off and bring it back to me."

"Yes Ma'am!" Finn chirps, hustling off to do as asked but pauses at the door of the changing rooms. "Um, are you guys headed home or…" he trails off sheepishly. He feels embarrassed asking, but these girls are his first real friends, and he doesn't want to part with them just yet.

"No, we've just started shopping." Kylie reassures with a grin.

"We're planning on picking out our wands next while our family gets our cauldron, glass phials, scales, and telescopes. Then, we're off to pick up our pets and finally our books." Anne explains thoroughly, making Finn grin widely.

"I haven't picked out my wand or pet either! We could go together!" he offers excitedly.

"Finn, I've got work to do at home." Mr. Callaghan says solemnly, sad that he has to cut his son's fun short but also annoyed that Finn just offered to go somewhere without checking with him first. Finn's shoulders sag, but Madam Milkin comes to the rescue.

"Don't worry. I'll take him home. You still live in that two-story house in Galway right?"

"That's not necess-"

"Just let the boy have some fun, Niel. I'll take care of him." Madam Malkin insists, shooing the tired man and squirming Caden away. "Now go get your work done and rest up!"

Mr. Callaghan sighs but nods gratefully. "Thank you," he murmurs before turning to Finn. "Behave alright? I'm paying for your robes and leaving the rest of the money for your pet and wand on the counter. Don't waste it, ok?"

"Yes Dad. I know." Finn says, smiling happily that he can stay but somewhat bitterly since his father doesn't seem to trust him ever since his brother started acting up.

Mr. Callaghan takes his leave, taking a whining Caden with him, as Finn quickly ducks into the changing room and exits in record time. Before long, the large group splits off after getting their three sets of robes, dragonhide gloves, pointed hats, and winter cloaks. The trio of kids clutch the money they need for their wands in their hands as they walk cautiously into Ollivanders. They aren't the only ones here. A regal-looking family of five is currently present in Ollivanders' store. There is a tall, elegant looking woman dressed in chic yet stately witch robes of a dark green variety while her husband is even taller with chiseled features and wearing professional looking burgundy robes. Their son in a set of slate grey robes seems out the trio's age, setting down yet another wand on the counter when a nearby stack of papers explode as one of the daughters squeals loudly and ducks behind her brother once more, not caring if she accidently knocks so wands over with her dark blue robes. The youngest daughter seems to be sleeping throughout the entire process, content to snuggle into her father's arms and clutch her dark rose colored robes close like a blanket. Mr. Ollivander tuts and takes the wand before waving them in. "Come in, come in! I hope you don't mind the wait!"

"It's not a problem." Kylie replies easily, wandering around the shop curiously.

"Please take your time," Anne adds with a polite dip of her head before joining Kylie in wandering the messy little store.

"We'll keep ourselves occupied." Finn adds with a grin that makes Mr. Ollivander laugh before he hands his current customer another wand, only to have the wand shoot out of his hand and into the wall next to Anne's head.

"Yikes!" she shrieks, ducking down into a crouch and holding her hands over her head. She turns to a shocked Kylie and Finn with a glare. "You guys didn't tell me that wand shopping was deadly." she hisses softly, making Kylie giggle and Finn snort.

"It usually isn't." Kylie assures, but her laughter doesn't help assure Anne. Finn doesn't even try and just laughs.

"I'm terribly sorry. Here. Let me help you up."

Anne blinks and turns to the hand extended to her. The hand is obviously attached to a body so she follows the arm up to a calm looking face of the boy her age. His steely eyes portraying a tinge of embarrassment and guilt while his face remains as expressive as a blank wall. Who was this boy?

 **Can you guess who this mysterious boy was? ;)**

 _Well, you've probably already figured it out, but you'll have to come back next week to see just what unfolds._

 ** _Be sure to leave a review and tell us what you think of the chapter, and who you think the mystery boy is!_**

 _*Cough* They already know_

 ** _Whatever_**

 _Anyway enough of that. Hope you guys enjoyed! See you next time! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Umm... When did I say we were going to upload, Ro?_

 ** _I believe your exact words were.. "See you next week!"_**

 _No no.. I said "See you next time. There's a big difference!_

 **Ok fine. But I'm sure our readers weren't expecting 'next time' to be...what was it...3 months later!**

 _Ah, but good things come to those who wait... You see, we were making you wait because..._

 **What Erin's trying to say is... we got busy... again. And we're sorry. College is an evil place that sucks you in and doesn't let you free until the semester is over.**

 _So true, but we're still very sorry. Very sorry. Very. *starts sobbing*_

 **Um, ok then... *pats Erin on the back* But we're back now! At least for a little while until break ends and college swallows us whole again. If you remember from last chapter...**

 _They can't remember back that far, Anne! I can't even remember what I did today!_

 **That's.. that's a problem, Erin. You should probably get that checked out. But anyway, what I was trying to say was our three friends meet a fourth companion in this chapter. My personal favorite, by the way, to write.** **We hope you enjoy it! And we'll try to update some more soon!**

 _We'll try our hardest! Wait.. what were we talking about, Ro?_

 **Just.. let them read the chapter Erin.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Occurrences at Ollivander's

"Sterling Kingsbury," the boy states, expecting a reaction at the name. He braces himself. Worst case scenario is that the girl recognizes the name and tries to weasel something out of him which he is not in the mood for. Best case scenario, the girl offers her friendship and walks back to her friends.

Anne blinks blankly back at him, the name ringing absolutely no bells, and just bobs her head politely and responds in kind. "I'm Anne Le. Thank you for not killing me while wand shopping." she states bluntly and truthfully. She's still a bit wary about this whole wand shopping business and decides then and there to find a stack of boxes to hide behind once this conversation is over.

Sterling blinks back at her, surprise leaking onto his normally blank and passive features. "U-Um, you're welcome?" he replies in more of a question than an answer. He can't remember the last time that he's been so casually dismissed in such a manner after introductions.

"Dude, it's like they're communicatin' through blinking. I thought talking to animals was weird enough." Finn whispers softly into Kylie's ear, causing her to snort loudly in an attempt to cover up her laughter. She understands Sterling's surprise though. Not many people in the wizarding world don't know the name Kingsbury. They are nobility with seats of power after all. The poor boy just had to almost kill Anne, most likely the only person in Diagon Alley that day who doesn't have the slightest clue who he is and couldn't really care less with her antisocial tendencies. Kylie's sure that she's got the best of friends from this incident alone.

Anne turns to her friends and arches an eyebrow. "Do I want to know?"

"Nope," Kylie and Finn respond immediately, making Anne huff and roll her eyes.

"Fine then. I'll just use you as meat shields until we're done wand shopping." Anne declare unapologetically before ducking behind Finn who squawks indignantly.

"Why me? I want to live too, you know!"

"Because you're bigger and easier to hide behind than Kylie. Besides, I like Kylie better." Anne responds matter-of-factually, making Finn whine while Kylie cackles.

"Ha! I win Finn! Hey, that rhymes!" Kylie crows happily, rather proud of her poetic abilities.

A loud laugh booms from behind them, making the trio and a gaping Sterling turn to a highly amused Mr. Kingsbury and a judging Mrs. Kingsbury. Sterling's surprised expression turns quickly into a mortified and rather embarrassed one at the realization that his parents witnessed the exchange. "It seems like you've met some interesting people, Sterling." Mr. Kingsbury exclaims as he walks up to the group, a spark of mischief gleaming in his eyes. "I'm Sterling's father, Reginald Kingsbury, and this is my wife Katherine Kingsbury. The little girl next to Sterling is my daughter Caroline, and this little one sleeping in my arms is Elisabeth."

"It's nice to meet you!" the trio intone in relative unison as Sterling snaps out of his shocked state to stand beside his father. Caroline stands in between Mr. Kingsbury and Sterling while giving the trio the stink eye. She's never met anyone that her older brother has shown anything more than mild interest towards, and she doesn't like how her dad seems to favor these strangers. Caroline is not the most generous person in the world when it comes to sharing her brother, and she can already feel the dislike building in her for that muggleborn girl Sterling talked a while too. Elisabeth lifts her head from her father's shoulder tiredly and lazily waves at the strangers, not really minding or caring about their presence at all. She doesn't mind her older brother's new friends. They seemed nice enough if not a bit noisy.

"I'm Finn Callaghan. It's nice to meet you." Finn chirps, thrumming with excitement because his mum had told him tons of stories about how awesome Mr. Kingsbury is.

"Hi. My name is Kylie Bennett. It's nice to meet you too." Kylie says mildly nervously. As a pureblood, she knows well just how powerful the Kingsbury family is. It's wonderful that their family has picked her father as their personal healer, and she really doesn't want to mess anything up for him.

"Anne Le, but you probably already know that. The pleasure is mine." Anne replies respectfully, noting how nervous or excited her friends seem to be but not really understanding what's going on. She feels a glare on her and turns to see Caroline's sharp eyes trying to burn into her skull, but the kid's soft, cherubic appearance just makes her seem fluffy and adorable, kind of like a grumpy cat, so Anne just smiles gently back, holding back giggles at the adorable kid in front of her. Apparently this makes the girl rather irate because she huffs and clutches her father and brother's robes in each of her hands.

Mr. Kingsbury hums in approval, already seeing the possible positive influence these kids could have on his son. If nothing else, they'd all give him a good laugh with their interaction. "I've decided. Sterling, it's about time you do things on your own." Mr. Kingsbury declares, surprising his wife, his overprotective daughter, and son when he shifts his youngest in his arms so that he can hand Sterling a bag of galleons. "I am allowing you to finish shopping on your own. Your mother and I have some bank statements to wrap up at Gringotts and will be waiting in the lobby for you after you're done shopping. Think of it as your first assignment as a young wizard." Mr. Kingsbury says with an encouraging smile before looping an arm around his stiff wife. His daughter, however, will have none of it.

"Father! I want to stay with Big Brother!" Caroline insists, dashing over to a still stunned Sterling.

"No Caroline. You're coming with us." Reginald says sternly, already realizing that his daughter's close to throwing a fit. Sadly, his wife seems to be on the same page as their daughter and has no plans on helping her husband in this situation.

"Reginald! You can't just leave our son with children we don't even know!" she hisses furiously, trying to get out of her husband's gentle but firm grip in as dignified a possible.

"He'll be fine, Katherine. Diagon alley is packed and brightly lit with security gargoyles on nearly every roof corner or fence. He's perfectly safe. Besides, I've got a good feeling about those kids. They'll be good for our boy."

Katherine sniffs haughtily. "No one is good enough for our boy, especially that Mudblood girl."

"Yeah! Sterling only needs me and Elisabeth! No other girls allowed!" Caroline cries, fiercely hugging her brother around his middle, much to his embarrassment.

Reginald Kingsbury sighs softly and tugs his wife towards the exit while giving a stern look to little Caroline that foretells the stern scolding she'll get when they get home. "Katherine, you know that he's much too young for us to be thinking about potential matches. Besides, you may not have seen it, but that Muggleborn child is very well mannered and sharp. Caroline, I will not say this again. Come. You know better than to throw fits like this."

"Well-mannered perhaps, but even the lowliest must learn to be polite to those above them to garner sympathy and pity to survive." Katherine sniffs and holds out a hand to a very dejected Caroline, allowing herself to be lead out of the store.

"Katherine, we've talked about this."

"Fine Reginald. I'll keep quiet my views of Mud-Muggleborns for our son's sake so he can make a choice about how he views them. Happy?"

"Very,"

"But Father, I want to stay with Big Brother. He'll need my help shopping!" Caroline whines dramatically, giving her father her best puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately, this does not work.

"Your brother is very capable, Caroline. He can shop by himself now. Besides, don't think I've forgotten about your bad behavior earlier."

"I only wanted to protect Big Brother! Those people don't treat him special! Not like me and Mom and Elisabeth and you!" Caroline insists, her big eyes watering in frustration at how her father just doesn't understand what she's trying to say. Her brother is the best big brother in the world. He deserves to be treated the best out of anyone that she knows.

Reginald sighs and turns his gaze to his daughter, stopping in the middle of the street to give her his full attention. He crouches down to meet her eye level, taking her small hands in his. "Have you ever considered the fact that maybe Sterling doesn't want to be treated special? That perhaps he wants to take a little break from being my heir, just for a little bit?"

Caroline gapes at her father in shock, not quite understanding why her brother wouldn't want to be treated special because he is special. Yet she doesn't know how to answer his question so she just pouts and shuffles along begrudgingly towards Gringotts, hands clutched in both her parents'.

Meanwhile back at Ollivander's, Kylie and Finn's face darkens exponentially with every passing second while Sterling stiffens defensively, knowing how touchy the word 'Mudblood' is. In all honesty, he should've seen this coming. His mother and sister have always been very overprotective of him for various reasons: his mum because he's her son and eldest while his sister seems to look up to him with something akin to hero-worship after the sand incident. The air around the quartet shifts into something dangerously sharp. "She just...I can't believe she just…" Kylie whispers, trailing off because she refuses to say such a derogatory term.

"What...that makes no sense! What gives her the right to be sayin' that?" Finn hisses in boiling anger, clenching and unclenching his fists while trying to calm down.

"That is my mother you're trashing, Callaghan. Watch your tongue." Sterling growls in response, glaring harshly at Finn.

"Well, you mother is-"

"Finn, stop." Anne says softly, getting the other's attention. "I don't completely understand the meaning behind what she just called me, but that doesn't give us a right to bad mouth her. She is still Sterling's mum. I would great really mad if anyone insulted my mum. I'd probably bash their head with a book in all honest, but what right do we have insulting Sterling's mum back? I don't really get what she called me, but I do get that we're not doing much better by calling her names behind her back. Doesn't hate breed more hate?"

"Wise words, my dear." Mr. Ollivander says from behind his counter, setting out four sets of three wands. "Now, let's get you three fitting with some wands. But first, the young Mr. Kingsbury must finish trying the wands I've picked out for him." Mr. Ollivander declares, extending a wand out to Sterling. "But I'm pretty confident that this one is the one."

Sterling cautiously eyes the wand and nods once stiffly. Taking it in his hand, he grips it tightly as a surge of raw, untamed power flows through him, causing all the nearby objects to begin to float. He blinks and experimentally wills everything to stop and return to their places with a wide sweep of his wand. To his amazement, every box or paper that's floating flutters down to the ground in relatively the same area from whence they came. He turns to Mr. Ollivander with a stunned look on his face while the old man nods in satisfaction. "Blackthorn wood surrounding a dragon heartstring core exactly 12 and a half inches in length with a firm quality about it. A strong wand for a strong-willed user. As long as you do what you do with conviction, this wand will never fail you. Sway, and it will be as useful as a twig off a tree."

Sterling looks at his wand in a new light before spinning it experimentally in his hand, smirk tugging at his lips as he recalls the surge of power he just experienced. Pointing it at a stunned Finn, Sterling's face returns to being as impassive as a blank wall, but there is a hard light in his grey eyes that show just how serious he is at the moment. "I will only say this once, Callaghan. I respect you simply because my father sees something in you that I don't, and I am willing to put up with your ignorant comments towards my mother to find out just what he sees in you. But I will warn you that I do not take lightly those who mock my family."

Finn scowls but understands where Sterling is coming from. He was and still is incredibly protective of his mother's memory and his family as a whole, even Oscar, and after Anne's little speech, he can't help but feel guilty about how easily he was about to throw mud on a woman who, while wrong, he doesn't know a thing about. "Understood." Finn responds with an equal amount of seriousness. "But you better not be makin' fun of my family either. Or Kylie's...or Anne's."

"So we agree that family is an untouchable topic until otherwise discussed?" Sterling asks coolly, keeping his wand trained on Finn as his eyes flicker from Kylie and Anne and back to Finn.

"Agreed. Now put that wand down. You don't even know how to use it." Anne grunts with a disapproving frown on her face as Kylie nudges Finn forward. She's still nervous after her initial near death experience with wands.

"Go on. You get first pick." Kylie says encouragingly.

"Are you sure? Shouldn't ladies go first or something?"

"Yes, now hurry so we can pick afterwards." Anne huffs with mock anger and impatience. Ok so maybe the impatience isn't as fake as her anger, but the point has been made.

Finn smiles at Anne and Kylie's comments before approaching Mr. Ollivander's table, accepting the first wand from him. But the moment it touches his fingers, it begins to sizzle like bacon on a pan so Mr. Ollivander takes it away from him and replaces it with another, bendier wand. This wand suddenly goes limp and completely deforms in his hand, like a wilted plant, so that one is taken, causing it to return to it's bendy but straight form, and replaced with another. As they say, third time's the charm because the moment that the wand enters his grip, a soft, gentle mist floods the room, easing the tension all around and giving the musty store a fresh, outdoors smell. "Wow," Finn breathes softly, holding his wand carefully as he gently examines the craftsmanship. "Thank you so much, Mr. Ollivander." he breathes, hastily giving the man the money he is due before walking back to his friends grinning widely.

"Mr. Callaghan," Mr. Ollivander calls after Finn, making the boy turn back to the counter from his position next to Kylie. "That wand is made of cedar wood, dragon heartstring core, 10.5 inches, and rather flexible. It's for a wielder willing to work hard and adapt with it."

Finn nods firm, a determined light entering his eyes. Suddenly, his dream of being a magical zoologist doesn't seem as far out of reach. It's less of a dream now and more of a potential future. "Thank you again, Mr. Ollivander. I'll work hard with my wand." he assures, looking down at the wood one more time before turning to his friends. He even smiles proudly at Sterling in his excitement who just gives him an arched eyebrow in return.

"Your turn, Kylie!" Anne decides cheerily, shoving her friend towards the counter before the poor girl could say otherwise.

"What? Anne!"

"You're welcome! Now pick out your wand!" Anne exclaims with a shooing motion much like the one her grandmother does often.

Kylie pouts lightly but turns to the counter in front of her and gingerly reaches out for the first wand offered to her. Mr. Ollivander smiles encouragingly at her as he slides the wand into her fingers. "Just remember that the wand chooses the wizard." he states calmly with a knowing look on his face, letting go of the wand just as a mini firework erupts from the tip of her wand, leaving her so startled that she drops it on the counter.

Mr. Ollivander laughs and picks up the wand again and holds it out to her once more. "Hazel wood, phoenix feather core, 10 and three-quarters inches, and a slightly springy consistency. A loyal and sensitive wand to support a cautious yet loyal person."

Kylie blushes and smiles brightly, accepting the wand while fumbling with the coins in her pocket. Depositing the required amount, Kylie gives Mr. Ollivander her brightest smile. "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander! Truly, I can't thank you enough. This is….this is really, really awesome."

Mr. Ollivander laughs and shakes his head. "Your smile is enough payment. After all, it doesn't always take multiple tries to get the perfect wand."

Kylie chuckles and nods happily, rushing back to her friends to show off her new wand. Her friends admire the beautiful color of the hazel wood, and even Sterling comments on how nice looking a wand Kylie has gotten, even if he reluctantly does so after the wide-eyed dead fish stare that Anne's giving him over Kylie's shoulder.

"Miss Le?"

Anne stiffens and robotically shuffles her way to the counter, excited yet scared at the same time. Mr. Ollivander observes her for a moment and smiles as if excited for the challenge. "I've got a feeling that you're going to be a tough customer, Miss Le, but we'll find something for you. Let's start with this one."

Anne takes the wand that Mr. Ollivander offers her but is suddenly blasted back by a jet of water streaming out of her wand, causing her to crash into a chair behind her from the sheer force of the jet stream and crumpling in a heap on the ground near the doorway. Mr. Ollivander tuts and quickly removes the wand from her hand. "No, no, most definitely not that one." he says, looking over the wands he has on his table before picking one as Kylie and Finn help Anne off the ground while Sterling pushes the chair upright again. "Try this one." Mr. Ollivander states, giving Anne a must shorter, stouter wand that promptly throws itself out of Anne's hand and flies like a boomerang around the room until Mr. Ollivander catches on its second lap around. Humming to himself, Mr. Ollivander shuffles to the back after putting the wand back into its box and climbs up a ladder to grab a three boxes seemingly at random. His three customers stand at the side of the counter, away from the large water puddle on the ground.

Mr. Ollivander climbs back down but pauses halfway and grabs two more boxes from a dusty corner of one of the shelves. "Ok, my dear. I've got a good feeling that your wand is one of these five." he says, trying to reassure an increasingly nervous Anne who carefully takes the first wand, a long sturdy object, that sends a cloud of smoke into the store. Mr. Ollivander snatches the wand back and uses a spell to clean the air as well as his wet floor. He hands her a second wand that immediately turns a sickly yellow in Anne's hands. She quickly returns the wand back to its box in alarm, causing it to revert back to its normal color. The third wand of the cluster of five jumps out of Anne's hand and back into its box without preamble, the most straightforward and cold rejection Anne's gotten so far. The fourth wand seems to be the most tame, too tame because it doesn't do anything at all in Anne's hands after an entire five minutes of waiting. Finally, Mr. Ollivander pulls out the final wand and hands it to her after some hesitation and peering into her eyes as if trying to read her.

The wand is of a simple design and is a bit on the shorter side compared to other wands Anne's tried. The dark wood is elegant and clean, and Anne is automatically drawn to the object. Taking the wand in her hand, the wand lets loose a gentle breeze carrying chrysanthemum petals into the room to help clear the musty smell. She smiles widely in relief and turns back to Mr. Ollivander who's giving her an odd look. Her smile slips off of her face in worry, but before she can say anything, Mr. Ollivander starts talking. "The wand in your hand is made of black walnut wood and a phoenix feather core. It's exactly 10 inches long and tends to be rather hard in it's flexibility. It's a shrewd wand but an insightful one with unfailing loyalty once it's loyalty is won. It's not one to pick up an owner that lies to herself, Miss Le."

Anne gulps, looking down at her wand and suddenly feels unsure if she can handle such a powerful wand. "Don't tell me you're second guessing yourself Le?" Sterling states calmly, arching an eyebrow at her. Anne turns to him in confusion. "You seemed to have it all together before. Where'd all that wisdom go?" he challenges, daring Anne to keep his strong gaze.

"I...I don't know," Anne frowns, looking back at her wand as Kylie approaches her while Finn roughly elbows Sterling with a grin.

"What Kingsbury's trying to say is that you did so well helping us out. Have confidence in yourself more. I'm sure you can totally win over this stubborn wand." Kylie cheers brightly. Finn nods in agreement.

"That's right! Because we're gonna need your help with this guy." he adds, jerking a thumb towards a disgruntled Sterling.

"I don't see why you would need help when it comes it me. I pride myself in being an approachable person."

"Approachable maybe. Relatable, not really. Easy to get along with, not at all," Finn says in blunt honesty with a casual shrug. "But we'll fix that. By the time we graduate, the four of us will know each other like the back of our hands." he declares with confidence.

Anne couldn't hope and agree more.

* * *

 **And done! We hope you enjoyed this chapter! Be sure to come back to see what misadventures happen to the four friends on the Hogwarts Express!**

 _I'll give you a hint... a famous bully is introduced... bet you can't guess who? ;)_

 **And we learn more about a certain character's backstory... there's even a little conflict.**

 _But we can give away too much. You'll just have to come back to see what we mean. And no, it won't be three months this time... Hopefully..._

 ** _See you soon!_**


	7. Chapter 7

_So...we lied!_

 **Well, unintentionally. I was feeling guilty because I was the main person that was too busy to update this story so I suggested to Erin that we do a double post for you guys.**

 _I was all for it, and really it was both of us that go really busy, Ro, not just you._

 **Yeah, yeah. I got it. I still feel bad though so this update is coming today instead of next week, and it's significantly longer than the other one.**

 _Yeah for long chapters! But seriously though, this chapter's got a ton of stuff in it. We're still editing the next chapter though._

 **Yeah, it's going to take a while, that's for sure...**

 _Yeah, but let's focus on this chapter for now! We get some more interactions between our four main characters and get to see them tackle the first major conflict they've had as a group of friends._

 **We hope you enjoy! See you at the end of the chapter! Please comment, favorite, or follow!**

 _Yes please! Seriously, please comment! We'd love to hear your feedback!_

 **Anyways, onwards!**

 _To the story!_

* * *

Chapter 7: All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!

Kylie keeps a death grip on the metal handle of the cage that contains her incredibly curious Niffler, Newt as she walks through the massive arched doorway to King's Cross Station, her family flanking her on either side. She had named the creature after Newt Scamander, the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, her second favorite Hogwarts book rivaled only by Goshawk's Guide to Herbology. She smiles a little as she remembers her new friend Finn's delighted reaction to her actually knowing who Newt Scamander was.

"You'd be surprised at how many people don't!" He had excitedly informed her while perusing the selection of owls at Magical Menagerie. His Irish accent was stronger than usual as he was obviously really excited about the topic. "Though I really don't understand why not because he was only the most famous magizoologist ever! He almost single handedly showed everyone that the creatures they thought were dangerous were only misunderstood. They just had to be treated with kindness and respect like anyone would want." Finn had said as he stroked the silky feathers of a shy-looking spectacled owl at an overlooked corner of the store. He had ended up purchasing that animal while Kylie had opted for a mischievous-looking Niffler with beady marble-black eyes. It probably wasn't the wisest decision she had ever made, but it's a decision she would never regret. Before she, Sterling, Finn, and Anne had left Diagon Alley, Newt had stolen Anne's shiny hair clip, a few silver Sickles straight out of Finn's hand, and then had proceeded to burrow deeply into Sterling's pocket and retrieve a gold-plated watch and a pair of reading glasses. He would have taken more had Sterling not let out a scream that rivaled that of her mother's when she sees a spider in the kitchen.

"Get it… away from me!" He had yelped, clawing desperately at his pocket. And after the Niffler had let out a small yelp of its own, it leaped into Kylie's arms, burying his head in her jacket. "Aww, you scared him." Kylie had said in an overly sappy voice, while Finn and Anne had just doubled over with laughter.

"Guess that's what you get for being from a rich family!" Finn had choked out between laughing fits. Sterling either didn't hear or didn't care what was said as he was too busy checking meticulously over his clothes for any evidence of damage.

"Oy, watch it!" Kylie jolts back to reality as she realizes she has just walked straight into an impatient-looking man in a business suit.

"I'm so sorry, sir…" She sputters, while desperately trying to keep a hold of Newt's cage. He seems to be greedily eying the shining silver ring on the man's clenched fingers. It doesn't go unnoticed by the businessman.

"What is that.."

"I have to go!" Kylie pushes forward into the stifling crowd, edging and bumping her way through the throngs of people until she finds her family waiting for her a few feet ahead.

Her father smiles down at her endearingly. "Lost in thought again, were you Ky?"

Kylie nods and grabs his hand, shaking her head at the congested crowds. She gazes to and fro around the station, feeling a bit panicky. "This is crazy! We'll never get to Platform 9 at this rate." She tries to keep up with her dad's quick pace while Newt nearly yanks her arm off trying to grab money from the guitar case of a street performer.

"Be patient. We always make it on time." He says back which would have been reassuring had he not been glancing at his watch while he was saying it.

"I have to meet my friends though!" she protests as she looks up towards the ceiling in an attempt to see the higher platforms, but the sun is streaming through the numerous skylights, blocking her view. Kylie's brother Ian lets out a laugh from where he strides a few paces ahead of Kylie and her parents, carrying his own caged snowy owl. "Friends already?!" He cranes his neck back towards Kylie with a teasing expression. "That just isn't fair. Most First Years have to wait until at least the Hogwarts Express to meet anybody. I didn't even talk until the Great Feast! Who are these friends you speak of? I must meet them. Unless maybe…"

"They exist!" Kylie abruptly finishes Ian's sentence, dodging pairs of feet left and right, her face feeling hot. "Just because you're Mr. Popular doesn't mean that I can't have some friends of my own."

Ian's face twists in a mixture of surprise and annoyance. He was obviously not expecting her retort.

"All right, all right, that's enough." Kylie's mum enters the conversation, knowing the impending argumentative storm that would ensue if she didn't intervene. "Do I have to get out some of my calming herbs?" She starts to rustle in the black leather bag draped over her shoulder.

"No!" Kylie and Ian answer at the same time, knowing that their mother is actually talking about a rather unpleasant concoction that is supposed to calm nerves, not the one they gave her friend Anne. Kylie coils automatically, thinking of the sickly sweet taste. What Ian said did end up quieting her though, and as Kylie climbs flight after flight of stairs, she wonders if her friends would actually be there waiting for her at the platform.

Anne holds tightly to Yixing and Mei's hands as she waits for her friends under the wooden sign announcing "Platform 9" in giant black block letters. "Careful, Sapling." Her grandfather says, stroking her back in small, relaxing circles with the hand that Anne is not strangling. "Grip even tighter, and I won't have a hand to garden with."

"This is where we were supposed to meet." Anne says rather breathlessly, easing up on her grip a little. Color starts to slowly make its return to her knuckles. "Why aren't they here?"

"We're a bit early still. I am sure your friends will arrive." Mei says briskly, giving Anne's other hand a gentle squeeze.

"I would say early is a bit of an understatement." Anne's older brother Landon announces, taking a long sip from the large thermos of tea he had brought with him. A shock of stubborn black hair sticks up on the back of his head. He hadn't had much time to get ready this morning because he overslept. "I'm not at all sure I'll be awake for work today." Anne scrunches her eyebrows together in concern. Was Landon mad at her for having to come? "But," Landon lets the word hang in the air for a moment as he takes another sip of tea. "Sending my little sister off to a magical school. Totally worthwhile." He winks playfully at Anne, who tries to remember to smile but the crowded station is making it difficult. The loud shrill voices of impatient travelers with their hurried clunking footsteps mingling with the jarring noises of metal trains screeching their way across the tracks and the eerie blaring of horns creates a terrible cacophony that presses against Anne's eardrums, making it nearly impossible for her to concentrate.

She casts her gaze over to her parents who are standing beside Yixing. Their expressions convey a little bit of discomfort themselves, and Anne knows that they're still not completely on board with the idea of sending Anne off to her mystery magical boarding school. They catch Anne starting and smile reassuringly at her. Anne puts on the bravest face she can muster. She glances down at the cart of supplies she had brought with her and starts checking them off in her head to calm herself down. Wand, check. Cauldron, check. School books, parchment, broom witches hat and cloak, all check. She smiles as her eyes alight on the brown leather-bound book Kylie had bought for her in Flourish and Blotts: _Hundreds of Helpful Herbology Hacks for Your Inner Gardener._ The book was already dogeared in several places, and even her Druid grandfather was impressed by how much Anne had improved with her gardening. She would have to thank Kylie when she arrived. If she arrived, that is.

When she finally looks up from her supplies cart, she catches sight of a young wizard. It is not of Kylie, however, but of a young dark-haired boy already decked out in his freshly pressed black cloak complete with black trousers, black button-down shirt and otherwise dark-looking apparel. He is flanked on either side by a well-dressed woman wearing a confident, almost cocky expression, and a tall, regal-looking man. Sterling was here.

Anne watches in bewilderment as the Kingsburys seem to pass almost unhindered by the pressing crowds, as if even Muggles could sense wizard nobility when they saw it.

"Am I on time?" Sterling asks casually as he strides over to where Anne is still hiding between her grandparents. He seems to notice her family's presence all at once.

"Forgive me. I don't believe we've met. My name is Sterling Kingsbury, and these are my parents, Reginald and Katherine. Anne and I met in Diagon Alley last month. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"It is an honor." Yixing says warmly taking each of the Kingsbury's hands while the rest of Anne's family follows suit, her parents looking a bit stiff. Landon has a hint of amusement in his face, and Anne imagines it's because her friend is a boy. She hadn't mentioned the gender of all her new friends to him, knowing it would provoke a stream of teasing. Anne tenses up a little when Katherine goes to take her hand, remembering her snide "Mudblood" comment back at Ollivander's. She had since learned the meaning of the word, and she was none too happy about it. And if she looked closely at Katherine now, she could just see a hint of disdain hiding behind her polite and put-together expression. She's just glad that Sterling's overprotective little sister not present. She doesn't think that she could handle a fussy girl adding to the cacophany that's already surrounding her.

Before they had even finished shaking hands, Anne could see another family making its way toward their little gathering. She grins when she sees Kylie clumsily jostling her way through the people, the light beaming from the skylight illuminating the bright expression on her face.

"Anne! You're here! I thought I would be too late! I…" Anne's grin fades faster from her face then the flame from a blown-out candle. Kylie has run headlong into Sterling's parents, nearly knocking a flustered Katherine off of her feet. Kylie anxiously clambers back up from where she had fallen, hurriedly gathering the cage containing her miffed-looking Niffler back into her hands before he tries to snatch some of Mrs. Kingsbury's expensive jewelry.

"I am so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury. I must not have been watching where I was going. Please forgive me." She gazes up at Katherine and Reginald as Katherine adjusts her slightly wrinkled velvety green dress.

"All is forgiven, child." Reginald says with a smile, while Katherine reciprocates his expression but remains silent. Anne starts to bite her nails, the awkwardness of the situation palpable in the air.

"Thank you for being patient with my daughter. She sometimes forgets where she is." Dr. Bennett strides up to the Kingsburys with his wife and young son following close behind.

"Ah, Healer Bennett." A light of recognition dawns in Reginald's dark eyes as he holds out his hand. "I do believe you helped me out with a nasty Splinching episode I had a couple of years back."

"Ah, yes." Kylie's father grins as he returns Reginald's polite gesture. "A severed hand may not be the easiest to repair, but it seems to have turned out rather nicely."

"My hand is no longer drained of blood if that is what you are referring to."

Kylie, Anne and Sterling share disgusted glances.

Reginald's tone has no detectable differences from that of someone discussing the weather, but Anne can see the twinkle in his eyes.

"And I hope you are doing well, Katherine." He addresses Reginald's wife and gives her a warm handshake, and the rest of Kylie's family rattles off their friendly greetings. Maybe Anne was mistaken, but Katherine seemed a bit friendlier in the presence of a pureblood family. So lost is Anne in watching the interaction unfold before her that she doesn't even notice Kylie's older brother striding toward the brick wall that opens into Platform 9 ¾.

"I hate to interrupt, but I think we might be late!" Ian says loudly over the rumble of trains, casting a furtive glance at his watch.

And just like that, Anne's whole body freezes in fear. This is the part she was dreading. Running through a brick wall that supposedly turned into a magical entrance to another crowded station was not her idea of fun in the least.

Kylie seems to notice her tension. "I'll run with you Anne. It's a piece of cake, isn't it, Ian?"

"Sure is." Kylie's older brother grins reassuringly at Anne. "Soon enough it will become second nature for you. Watch."

Anne can't help but emit an awestruck gasp as Ian whips around to face the wall, takes a deep breath, and sprints forward towards the bricks without the slightest hesitation, his cart of school supplies rattling noisily. And just as she is about to squeeze her eyes shut to avoid seeing the monumental crash, something incredibly strange happens.

Instead of hitting the solid barrier, the cart vanishes through the wall without a sound, Ian disappearing right behind it. It appears as if the wall has swallowed him whole though there is no visible change in the brick structure.

"Um, I suppose I'll go next." Sterling shrugs, glancing awkwardly at Anne and Kylie's tightly interlocked hands.

A thought scratches at the back of Anne's brain, desperate to be paid attention to. Something wasn't right, something was missing. Kylie speaks it instead.

"Wait, we really should wait for Finn! He'll be looking for us!" she says glancing behind her with a nervous expression, searching for any signs of the cheerful blonde-haired boy.

Sterling looks quite uncomfortable as he glances at his watch. "It's 10:50 all ready. The Hogwarts Express leaves in 10 minutes! If he hasn't come by now, he never will."

Kylie's expression now turns panicky. "Just a few more minutes!" She pleads, looking at all the adults in turn for permission. Reginald Kingsbury is about to say something but is cut off by a familiar-sounding voice that makes Anne and Kylie loosen their death grip on each other's hands.

"Wait for me!" Finn calls out as he darts awkwardly through the ever growing maze of people, pushing his out-of control cart in front of him. The wheels protest loudly as they skitter suddenly to a halt, the overstuffed contents threatening to spill over the sides.

"Miss me?" A relieved grin lights up the Irish boy's face. His cheeks are pink from running and his dirty blonde hair looks like Kylie's Niffler had gotten a hold of it. Anne frowns as she watches him slow to a walk, catching up with the trio, seeing something she hadn't noticed before.

Kylie once again speaks Anne's thoughts. "Finn, you're limping! Did your cart fall on top of you or something?"

Finn stops abruptly in his tracks, his cheeks flushing even redder. "No, I'm fine!" He says with a strangled-sounding laugh. Kylie appears not to notice his mood change. "Well, whatever happened, it's better than what I did." She glances sheepishly up at the Kingsburys.

"As I said, all is forgiven." Reginald says with a laugh while Finn looks on with a confused expression.

"Where's your dad and Caden?" Anne asks, glancing around Finn for any signs of the tired man with the hyperactive little boy.

"He had to go get my brother Oscar out of trouble. Who knows what he did this time?" Finn replies running an exasperated hand through his hair. "Anyway, we said our goodbyes on the fifth platform, and I've been tryin' to get up here ever since then."

"Well, thankfully you're just in time." Kylie's dad smiles down at Finn who is still trying to catch his breath. The boy moves to introduce himself but Kylie's father shakes his head.

"No, no time for introductions. You'll be late! Suffice it to say, anyone who runs up 9 flights of stairs in order to not be late to a prearranged meeting has my respect."

Finn grins widely, looking a bit star-struck from the praise he had received. "Thank you, sir!"

Anne momentarily turns her attention away from Finn and Kylie as they converse with Healer Bennett, slipping her hand out of Kylie's and gazing up at her grandparents. "You will write to me, won't you?" She asks, stubborn tears filling her eyes. Yixing gathers Anne up into his arms and even Mei joins in the hug. This makes Anne want to cry even more, considering how her grandmother doesn't like hugs.

"Of course we will, Sapling." Yixing coos as Anne buries her face into his cotton shirt, which smells all at once of and fresh earth and warm sun and and lush green gardens. It makes Anne long for home so much that it her heart hurts, and if she were offered the chance, she may have marched right back down out of the terribly noisy King's Cross Station and back to her little home in Durham, back to the garden and family meals accompanied by jovial laughter and Tai Chi and even Erhu lessons. But her grandfather doesn't offer any such thing. Instead, he just says, "You'll have more letters than the owls will know what to do with."

Anne wipes a stubborn tear from her eyes and turns to hug each of her parents in turn. "We love you so much, Anne." Tiffany says gently, her soothing voice drowning out the irritating sounds of the station. She strokes Anne's black hair gently. "You've grown up so much."

"You've made all of us so proud already," Richard adds, kissing her lightly on the cheek. This means more to Anne than she could say since she knows her father is still very much uncomfortable with sending her off to Hogwarts. "Stay safe, Love, and work hard to always keep that smile on your face. That's all we ask." The tears keep coming as she hugs Landon goodbye, where he retorts that she must tell him the names of all the boys that she beats in her classes when she gets home for Christmas, and finally turns back to Kylie, who is holding out her hand to her nervously. Anne hastily wipes her tears from her eyes. "I'm ready. Let's go."

The two girls lock hands and sprint forward to the barrier, Anne's heart pounding like a sledgehammer in her chest. She winces, preparing to crash into the bricks, but instead she continues running, straight through the bricks and onto Platform 9 ¾.

Sterling gazes out the plaid curtain-clad window of the cramped compartment on the Hogwarts Express, watching the outdoor surroundings skirt past him in a blur as the train takes him farther and farther from King's Cross. He feels relaxed for the most part, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't extinguish the worry in the back of his head about what House he would be sorted into. If it was Slytherin, perhaps he was more like his mother than he thought. Maybe it shouldn't be as big of a surprise as it is. After all, even with his new friends, Sterling still wondered if purebloods really were superior to other wizards. To disagree would be to go against everything she had taught him despite his father's efforts to keep the slate on the issue clean for him to decide.

His father was a different story, though. Sorted into Gryffindor, his dad was a man of great bravery but also kindness, and he always let Sterling know that he saw those traits in him as well. Would he be wrong about that if Sterling ended up in Slytherin? Was he wrong for being kind in the first place? Maybe it was best to act superior to other wizards. After all, most important wizards seemed to value cunning and skill over just kindness. But something about that just didn't ring true. He just didn't know. It was like he was a rope being yanked in two different directions. Gryffindor, Slytherin. Gryffindor, Slytherin. If the force became too great he might just split in half, like his father's Splinching accident but worse.

"Looks like someone needs some cheering up!" A happy, lilting voice jolts Sterling out of his rather gloomy thoughts. Finn is sitting across from Sterling and holding out a bright purple box containing a chocolate frog.

"Oh, um, thanks." Sterling takes the box from the overexcited boy and gently tears it open, wondering what famous witch or wizard was printed on the collectors card.

A dark, stern looking man with greasy hair stares up at him.

Severus Snape.

A Slytherin.

Sterling pops the frog into his mouth, wishing his worries could melt away like the sweet milky chocolate.

"Hey, Kingsbury, I bet you two Sickles I can fit more jelly slugs in my mouth than you can! " Finn claps his hands excitedly, carelessly shoving away empty boxes of fizzing whizbees and peppermints.

"Hey, careful!" Kylie squeals, rubbing an eye. "That box just hit me in the face!" Finn's face lights up red, and he hastily apologizes, but Kylie is laughing too hard to actually be mad.

"So, Kingsbury. What do you say?" Finn dangles a blue candy slug in front of his mouth.

"I'm not much for..."

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Finn starts to chant in a maniacal voice that makes Sterling genuinely concerned about how much sugar he's consumed.

"Fine, Fine. Two Sickles!" Sterling resigns himself to the task at hand and shoves a bright pink slug into his mouth. It tastes like lemonade. Next, a black licorice one. Sterling cringes at the flavor combination in his mouth and notices that Finn is way ahead, cramming in slug after slug.

"This is stupid!" Sterling tries to say as he crams two red cherry slugs into his mouth, but it instead comes out as, "Thith ith sthupid." It doesn't help that a small crowd of other first-years has formed around them, cheering like they were at a Quidditch match.

Finn shouts something that sounded a little bit like "I'm gonna beat you!" as Sterling grabs a tenth slug and puts it in his already overstuffed mouth. Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen… _this is so stupid._ On the fifteenth jelly slug, Sterling feels himself begin to choke and quickly ducks his head into a nearby trash can, spitting out a multicolored mess.

Finn pumps his fists up in the air and lets out a muffled shout of victory before moving to spit out his slugs. The crowd of over-excited first years erupts in cheers, high-fiving Finn before going back to sit down in their own compartments, and Sterling feels instant regret pool in his stomach. What would his parents think of him? He was trying to be more mature, he really was. There just wasn't time for these silly games. He had to concentrate.

"Pay up, Kingsbury! I got twenty slugs!" Laughter dances in Finn's eyes as he holds out his palm, awaiting the cash.

"Ok, ok, you win." Sterling says in a decidedly less enthusiastic tone and extracts the appropriate payment.

"Hey, nice game you had going there. Had me on the edge of my seat." Sterling turns, confused at the sound of the voice with the mocking tone. A rather pale boy with slicked back platinum blond hair and neatly pressed black robes leans lazily against the door of their compartment.

"Um, sure." Sterling replies, squinting up at the boy. He recognizes him from somewhere, but where.

"Oh, sorry. I'm being rude. My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. You must be Sterling Kingsbury."

"How did you..?"

"Oh, everybody knows about the Kingsburys." The boy scoffs. "Nobility, Auror Office, Wizengamot, all that jazz. Though I have to say, you're not nearly as popular this year as Potter over there. Nobody can stop talking about him"

He jerks his head over to where a dark-haired boy with glasses sits in a compartment towards the front of the train, talking to another boy with fiery red hair. Sterling remembered his dad telling him that Harry Potter was coming to Hogwarts this year, and he could hardly believe it. The boy that had survived You-Know-Who's Killing Curse? Now that was somebody to be friends with.

"But he's not a pureblood like you and I are." Malfoy adds, smiling. "And we purebloods have got to stick together, don't we?"

What was he getting at?

"Sure, I guess." Sterling adds, and he can't help but notice the slightly hurt expression on Anne's face. He hoped she didn't think he didn't want to be friends anymore. He needed all the friends he could get.

"Go on, introduce me to your friends! I've never seen them before! Are they members of the nobility too?" Malfoy said, rudely pushing Finn over so he could sit across from Sterling in the overstuffed compartment.

"Um, well I'm Kylie Bennett. My dad works as a Healer at St. Mungo's." Kylie speaks up quickly, probably trying to keep Anne from answering.

"My Mum was a journalist for The Daily Prophet." Finn says, looking down at his feet.

"Hmm," Malfoy says with a smirk. "Not too bad. Maybe I'll stay. My dad's been telling me about the brilliant doctor that's been rising in the ranks at the hospital, Bennett. And it doesn't hurt to have friends in the media." Draco adds, making Finn's fists clench because Draco's treating his mom like some tool. Kylie frowns and is clearly repulsed by the clear pureblood superiority that she sees rolling off of Draco, turning to Anne in concern. Sterling catches Finn mouthing "Please go" at Draco, making nothing more than to summon Rory to drag the boy away and through some mud. None of this happens sadly, and Draco nods towards Anne. "What about you? Your parents Aurors or something?"

Anne looks warily at the boy, her eyes darkening. "They're Muggles." She says smoothly, waiting for his response. Her eyes are hard and her teeth are clenched. While the large crowd from earlier nearly sent her into cardiac arrest, this is just one boy, one snobbish boy that dares trample on the people she loves. No, not today, nor any day if Anne has any say in it.

Draco raises his eyebrows, his smirk disappearing. "Oh, so you're a Mudblood, are you then?" His words drip with disgust. "Have to say, I expected more from you, Kingsbury. One can never be too careful about the company he keeps."

Sterling feels rage boiling up inside of him, and he stands to his feet, opening his mouth to say something, but Anne beats him to it.

"Don't… you...DARE speak about my family like that!" Anne retorts, her voice rising in pitch. "I don't know who your parents are, but they must be simply dreadful people to have raised their son to talk like that! Oh, and I may not know much about magic, but I do know that all the magic in the world can't teach someone to be a kind and decent person because if it did, you would be one by now!" Anne has taken several steps toward Draco now, and he's slowly starting to back away, obviously not expecting Anne to fire back.

"If I were you, I would trade every bit of my pure bloodedness to have just an ounce of the decency my Muggle family has!" Anne finishes, walking ever closer towards to the pale blond boy, who appears a shade paler now, if it was possible.

He seems to snap out of his thoughts and looks with disgust at Sterling. "And here I thought you'd be in Slytherin with me, but it looks like your friend here has a better chance of that. Have fun in Hufflepuff, loser."

Sterling just stares after Malfoy, not saying a word as he strides away from the compartment, fists clenched. Anne huffs and slams the glass door to the compartment closed, landing with a thud on her cushioned seat. Nobody speaks for a while, and the tension in the compartment is so thick, Sterling thinks of cracking open the window to see if it would help

" I bet you anything he will be sorted into Slytherin. Slytherins are just awful, aren't they?" Kylie offers, shuddering slightly.

"Not all of them." Sterling says in a low tone, suddenly afraid of what he could become.

"Well, why don't you go join Malfoy then." Anne growls, still not calmed down after her fight with Draco.

"Woah, wait, that isn't fair." Finn speaks up, trying to diffuse the increasingly tense situation. "Sterling's right, not all Slytherins are like that."

"Ian says.." Kylie begins.

"Your brother doesn't know everything, Kylie." Finn shoots back sternly. "My mum was good friends with a Slytherin, and she always told me that a witch or a wizard was so much more than the house they happened to be sorted into. I thought you guys knew that."

The compartment goes quiet at Finn's mention of his mum, the anger deflating from the room like a balloon. But Sterling still wondered if what Finn said was actually true. Because if it wasn't, he might lose his friends.

Finn sighs, looking out at the sun setting outside the windowed compartment as it bathes the outdoor scenery in a soft pink glow. He turns to Anne, Sterling, and Kylie, all who are looking rather gloomy. Kylie is picking at a loose thread in a cushion, Anne is reading one of her books from Flourish and Blotts, and Sterling is just staring at his shoes.

Finn clears his throat. "Well… I'm gonna go see if any snacks are left on the trolley cart. You guys want anything?" Finn wasn't actually hungry, he just had to try.

"No, no, I'm fine." Kylie mumbles.

"Me too." says Sterling, and Anne just shakes her head.

"Well, we have to do something." Finn throws his hands up, not knowing what will help in a situation like this. He just knows he has to be the peacemaker. He refuses to let his friends stay mad at each other, no matter what it took.

Anne lets out a heavy sigh and puts her book down on the cushion beside her "Look, Finn, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have even got involved with that Draco kid."

"You're right." Sterling lifts his head, a guilty-looking expression etched on his face. "He was talking to me, anyway. I should have stood up for you. You shouldn't have had to say any of that... He just wanted to have a friend that was like him. I guess he decided that I'm not what he was looking for." Sterling traces a pattern in the fraying rug on the compartment floor with his shoe.

"Well, he was right." Anne says, her voice firm. "You're nothing like him, Sterling. I'm so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean.."

"But what if I'm in Slytherin?" Sterling asks, desperation in his voice. "What then?"

"That won't change a thing." Anne says, decidedly, turning to face Sterling.

"She's right." Kylie adds. "Who am I to be talking about how bad Slytherins are when I've never even been to Hogwarts? Anyway, Ian lies about a ton of stuff anyways. He told me that the Whomping Willow on the school grounds is actually a transfigured version of Headmaster Dumbledore. Guess what? It isn't."

This elicits the smallest of smiles from the Anne and Sterling.

"I mean, if you're sure…" Sterling still sounds uncertain.

"Of course we are." Finn adds, feeling more hopeful. "The Platinum Quartet has to stick together!"

"Platinum Quartet?" Kylie raises an eyebrow.

Finn shrugs. "I thinks it sounds good."

"I just have one thing to add." Anne adds, a small smile crossing her face. "Sterling?"

"Yeah?"

"If you do get sorted into Slytherin, punch Malfoy's guts for me, will you?"

Sterling actually laughs, the loudest since he's met his new group of friends. "Will do."

"Hey, Finn. Wake up." Finn slowly emerges from a fitful sleep

"Go away, Caden..." Finn mumbles, swatting blindly at the air above him.

"I'm not Caden, I'm Sterling." The voice says, rather offended but amused. "And we're here."

"Here where?" Finn groans, still completely disoriented and blinking slowly up at a bleary version of Sterling.

"ALL FIRS' YEARS, COME WITH ME! ALL FIRS' YEARS, TO THE BOATS!" A booming voice jolts Finn out of whatever sleepiness remained in him, and he jerks his head up to see a crowd of young witches and wizards gathering behind a gigantic man with a furry-looking beard. Hagrid. Oscar had talked about him before. The half-giant who lived on the grounds. But Finn didn't remember anything about boats… Panic starts to rise inside his chest as he watches Anne and Kylie gathering their things, eager to join Hagrid at the door.

"We're here!" Kylie squeals. "I can't wait to see the Great Hall! And Dumbledore! And.."

Anne laughs as she follows her friend to the compartment entrance. " Um, Muggle-born here? I still don't know what any of this stuff means!" she chuckles, hiding her anxiety about going on boats to the school.

Kylie giggles and says something back, but Finn can't focus over his racing heart. Sterling starts to move toward the aisle with them, but not before Finn grabs his arm, nearly missing because of his sweaty palms . Sterling glances down at Finn, looking slightly annoyed. "Come on, Finn. Get up. We don't want to miss the boat."

"What do you mean, boat? I thought we were taking a carriage." he says, trying to hide the desperation in his voice.

"That's for second years and up." Sterling states matter-of-factly. "We get to see Hogwarts for the first without any carriages blocking our view."

"FIRS' YEARS, COME WITH ME!"

A sense of impending doom grips Finn's heart and his mind helplessly flashes back to the awful day.

 _His mum getting hit by a blinding white light and splashing into the cold river._

 _Finn diving after her, not knowing how to swim._

 _Ramming into their little boat repeatedly, gasping for air._

"You don't look so good." Sterling says as he turns back from the doorway to look at Finn, his eyebrows coming together in concern. His voice seems far away.

"I can't go."

"Sure you can, come on." Sterling says, motioning for Finn to get up. Finn stays cemented to his seat, unable to move.

"No, I can't."

Anne pushes past Sterling and a crowd of jittery first years to come sit next to Finn.

"It's okay. I'll help you. I'm don't really care for water either."

"It's not that!" Finn cries desperately, tears starting to stream down his face. He can't help it. "I can't go, I really can't. Just take me on a carriage, please!"

"LAST CALL FOR FIRS' YEARS!" Hagrid's voice booms through the compartments, and Anne glances worriedly at the last of the stragglers clamoring for the door. She nods to Sterling to go ahead and save a boat for the four of them before turning back to Finn.

"Finn, we really have to go." Anne urges, grabbing Finn's hand.

"No! I won't go! I told you!" Finn wrenches his shaking hand out of Anne's grip as Hagrid clambers noisily over to their compartment. "SOMETHIN' WRONG?"

"I'm not going on a boat. Take me on the carriage." Finn doesn't turn around to look at the half-giant standing over him. He's much too busy trying to get his heart rate back to a somewhat normal pace.

"COURSE YEH'RE NOT. HERE, HAVE SOME OF THIS. IT'LL HELP CALM YEH DOWN A BIT."

Finn finally turns around to see Hagrid holding a steaming mug of something caramel colored in front of him. He eyes Hagrid warily but takes the drink. It's thick and tastes sweet and buttery, and an instantly impossible calm floods his body. How did that happen? He slowly stands to his feet, confused at why he's suddenly decided to go along with this.

Hagrid grins down at him. "Always keep a supply of that on hand for the nervous ones. Come on now, we don' wan' ter be late!"

And with that, he turns on his heels and starts lumbering towards the door, his footsteps shaking the whole train.

Finn stares confusedly after him, wiping tears from his face. "Anne, what just..."

"He's right." Anne smiles weakly and takes Finn's hand again. "We don't want to be late."

* * *

 **Yeah! We're done! Sorry for any mistakes that you guys find. This chapter wasn't as thoroughly checked as the others.**

 _We check chapters thoroughly? I was just spot-checking stuff..._

 **Well, I was trying to make it sound better than it actually was but... you're pretty much right. We just reread each other's parts and spot check.**

 _So yeah...sorry for any errors! We did work hard on the chapter though so we'd appreciate the comments, even if it's just to clarify or point out mistakes._

 **Yeah, we're really starved for comments.**

 _Lol! We sound desperate now. Should we lay off the begging?_

 **Aren't we desperate though?**

 _Yes, but do they need to know that?_

 **Eh, too late now. :p**

 _True. True. Anyways, the next chapter is the Sorting chapter! Which houses do you think our main characters are going to join?_

 **Come back next week to find out!**

 _We mean it this time. :p See ya then!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! We are back as promised with another update!**

 _I'm so glad we got to some of the exciting stuff before school hit._

 **Ugh, school...**

 _Yeah, I don't want to go back._

 **Neither do I, but alas, we must.**

 _True...anyways, this chapter is super awesome! In all honesty, it was too long to be kept one chapter like we had originally wrote it so we had to split the thing in half._

 **That would probably be my fault. I'm the wordier of the two of us by far.**

 _You're not wordy, just creative in your own way._

 **Erin, you are way too nice.**

 _Aw! Thank you! So are you!_

 **Thanks Friend. Now, let's not babble any longer and let the readers move onto the story!**

 _Enjoy everyone!_

* * *

 _Chapter 8: Towards our Futures part 1_

The trip down to the boats is a tense one. Finn has a vice like grip on Anne's hand. While whatever drink Hagrid gave him helped him lose many of his inhibitions, Finn's mind is still terrified innately. They reach the docks with the last few first years, the noise of excitedly chatting first years and the sound of against the banks water makes Anne have the sudden urge to vomit, but she grits her teeth and squeezes Finn's hand as she guides him towards the boat Kylie and Sterling managed to save for them. Apparently, invoking the Kingsbury name comes in handle when one wants to reserve things like boats. Kylie immediately rushes towards them as they approach, grabbing hold of Finn's other trembling hand and helping him climb into the boat after her. Anne slips in third with a stern looking Sterling cautiously climbing into the boat third with lantern in hand.

"ER'ONE ON?" Hagrid calls out loudly from his own personal boat. Raising his lantern to the sky, he does a quick count of all the boats and gets the number he's looking for. Nodding to himself, Hagrid lowers his lantern into its slot on the ship. "FULL SPEED AHEAD!"

It seems like Hagrid's words were the incantation needed to get the boats moving because a second later, all the boats lurch forward. Anne gasps hoarsely and reaches behind her to grasp Sterling's hand tightly, feeling Finn's fingers already tightening around her smaller hand. Anne feels Sterling's questioning gaze on her and turns back to him. "I don't know how to swim." she explains softly but not letting go of the two hands she's holding. "So unless you want me to panic and drown us all, just bare with me." she hisses but deflates afterwards, remember their argument on the train. "Sorry, I'm just-"

"Tense. I understand. We all are." Sterling offers softly, mind flitting back to what happened on the train. He doesn't pull his hand away and tilts his head to see that Kylie's offered hand is tightly grasped in Finn's as well. Together, the four of them form a chain, and even though Sterling's the logical and not very sentimental type, he can't help but feel as if the chain they've formed between each other is unbreakable.

"Guys! Look!" Kylie gasps as their boats turn around the bend in the lake where the train station lies. Ahead of them is a glittering expanse of water, illuminated by moonlight. Beyond the gorgeous lake is even more magnificent castle on a hill overlooking the beautiful scenery all around them. "We're almost there...almost to Hogwarts." Kylie whispers softly, her blue eyes sparkling almost as much as much.

"Whoa," is all that Anne could eloquently say at that point.

Even Sterling, used to grandeur and finery as he is, can't help but be silent before the mystery and majesty before him. Then, his eyes met another's. "Malfoy," he growls softly, his grey eyes darkening when Draco and his friends start making kissy faces at him. Anne stiffens, seeing the motion as well, before slowly moving to extract her hand from Sterling's. Sterling, however, grips her hand tightly in defiance and glares at the others in the boat as if telepathically telling them to not fall for Draco's game. "I'm not going to let some uncultured brat stop me from doing what I want, and right now, Finn and Anne need our support, Kylie."

Kylie's eyes widen just a few seconds before her proud smile follows suit. Anne smiles gratefully, squeezing Sterling's hand, and Finn sighs in relief. "Thanks Kingsbury...no, Sterling. Thanks."

"No problem, Callaghan."

"Oi! Call me Finn!"

"Finn then."

"That makes me Anne so you'd better get used to it." Anne says with a laugh, starting to relax once again. "I'm not responding to Le anymore."

"Same with me! It's only Kylie from here on out….Well, unless we're mad at each other, but we've already fought once, and that's enough times for me." Kylie amends quickly with a small frown.

"Seconded!" Finn chirps.

"Third...ed?" Anne adds questioningly, looking rather confused.

Sterling, who had been silently staring at his friends, bursts out laughing, a true and bright laugh that he hasn't let loose in a long while outside of the walls of his own home. The three friends turn to him in surprise, gaping at him in their own ways, but Sterling offers no explanation and remains silent for the rest of the ride. His grey eyes scan the waters and find Draco's again who looks very disgruntled at being unable to ruffle the quartet's feathers. A smug smirk stretches across his face, and suddenly Sterling has his answer for why not all Slytherins are bad. If he can use his cunning, his ambition, to protect and avenge his family and friends, he'd happily accept an invitation to Slytherin house. Besides, he'll need a way to get up close and personal with Draco if he ever were to mess with any of his friends.

During his musings, Sterling feels a pair of eyes on him. Tilting his head forward towards the castle, he catches the gaze of a pair brilliant pair of green eyes behind wire-rim glasses. If he hadn't seen him on the train, Sterling wouldn't have known that such a scrawny, average looking boy (except for his brilliant eyes) would have been the One Who Lived. Anne seems to have noticed the gaze as well and follows Sterling's line of sight to find the Boy Who Lived glancing her direction for a brief moment, curious. Suddenly, Anne's entire vision goes black for a brief but terrifying moment before flashes of lights flood her wide eyes.

 _A flash of green accompanied by a woman's scream._

 _Loud footsteps on wood in darkness, sadness, loneliness and anger._

 _Hagrid bursting through the darkness._

 _A talking hat surrounded by light and white noise._

 _Red. Gold. Cheering which turns into screams._

 _A monster the size of a bus raises its ugly head and swings a fist, shattering the lights all together._

Just as quickly as it happens, the lights disappear, and Anne can suddenly see in front of her again. A wave of nausea accompanied by a splitting headache slams into Anne like a tidal wave, causing her to lurch away from the Boy Who Lived, hunch her shoulders, and tuck her head down to her knees.

"Anne?"

"Anne, are you ok?"

"Anne! Is it the water?"

"No, no, it's not that." Anne rasps, gathering a huge breath and forcing herself to sit up and meet her friends' concerned gazes. She licks her lips, trying to grasp exactly what just happened, but nothing seems to make sense. Panic rises in her throat, and chills rack her frame as she tries to keep from throwing up at all the nausea. "I don't….I don't understand what happened. It's just…." Anne pauses and dares a glance at the Chosen One again, but he's turned back to talk to his ginger friend. "I saw things when I looked at him."

"At who?" Kylie asys in concern while Finn gives Anne's hand a squeeze. Sterling's hand tenses.

"Potter? Did he do something to you?" Sterling asks, suddenly suspicious. After all, the boy survived the killing curse as a baby. Who knows what he's capable of.

Anne shakes her head and sits up a bit straighter. "No, I don't think so….I don't know what's going on."

"Well, let's just get off these boats and get sorted. I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out after a good dinner and a night's sleep." Finn says, his voice cheery as it could be while he's out on water. "Food and sleep usually solve a lot of my problems."

His words couldn't come at a better time as their boat docks itself next to the wooden docks just a short walk away from the base of Hogwarts Castle. Kylie carefully climbs out first, spinning around to help Finn disembark. Once on solid ground again, Finn happily collapses on his knees and presses a kiss on the wood of the dock. "Land. Sweet, unmoving land. I missed you."

"That's disgusting Finn." Sterling states bluntly once he and Anne have climbed off of the ship, his face blank but his eyes judging.

"Think of the bacteria, Finn." Anne mutters softly in concern.

"Yeah, yeah. It was a one time thing anyways." Finn waves them off casually, standing to his feet and shaking himself off. The memories of his mother's death still haunt him, but Hagrid's drinks kept the worst at bay, and for that, Finn's grateful to the gentle giant. Shaking his head and ruffling his dirty blonde locks, Finn turns his gaze to the massive castle before him. "This is it guys,"

"It is. Our future." Sterling replies solemnly.

"Yes, but we carve it." Anne adds with a small smile.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We're not getting sorted on the docks." Kylie says teasingly, leading the group to join the larger crowd of first years lead by Hagrid off the winding path to the castle ahead. Finn excitedly bounds after her, followed by Anne, and finally Sterling who is carrying their lantern to help light the way like several other first years.

The walk up to Hogwarts Castle is relatively uneventful. Kylie, Finn, and Anne wait for Sterling as he follows Hagrid to where the lanterns are supposed to be dropped off before their group of four makes their way up to the stairs just before the dining hall. From where Kylie is standing between Finn and Anne, she can catch a glimpse of a boy that looked like Harry Potter standing at the front of the pack. After just a few seconds of listening in to the conversations around her, Kylie quickly ascertains that it it really is Harry Potter. Just moments later, Professor McGonagall appears before them on the top of the staircase. Professor McGonagall is a witch that Kyle admires greatly for her sharp mind and her bravery. While Kylie knows she probably will not be sorted into Gryffindor, she hopes to get to know the woman through the Transfiguration class that McGonagall teaches.

"Welcome to you, young witches and wizards, to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress, head of Gryffindor house and professor of Transfiguration." Professor McGonagall begins. Her voice isn't necessarily extremely loud, but it radiates a power that makes the rowdy crowd of children in front of her quickly listen. She scans the crowd with a stern expression before continuing, as if daring any fool to act out as she explains the evening to them. "In just a few moments you will be sorted into your Hogwarts houses. In my hand is the scroll containing a randomized list of your names." she explains, holding out a scroll of parchment paper that looks exceptionally long. Though, Kylie figures that it made sense with the sheer number of first years present.

"Why is it randomized Professor? Wouldn't it be easier to have the list be alphabetical?" asks a small girl with wild curly hair and bright, expressive eyes. Her question is entirely out of curiosity, and Kylie respects the courage that she displays.

"It's to level the playing field for all students. The list is randomized four times total before this evening. That way, any student has the opportunity to land anywhere on this list. The Sorting Hat many times doesn't need much help deciding your house, but your current thoughts as you converse with it may help it make its decision one way or another. This is why many prefer it to not be alphabetical because all those with an A or B last name have very little time to prepare themselves." McGonagall explains patiently, eyeing the girl momentarily before turning back to the other students. "Once sorted, you head straight to your house's table. Each house has already set aside places for new first years to sit. It's not hard to find a seat. Your house is your family. During your Hogwarts' experience, we want you to bond with the members of your house because it is our goal that your house will be your home away from home. Due to that goal, first years must sit with their respective houses for the entirety of both semesters. Second years and beyond may sit anywhere they wish. Any questions?"

Ribbit.

"TREVOR!" a chubby young wizard shouts, darting forward to cradle his small toad in his hands. Looking up, he shyly looks back down and apologizes for the disturbance.

Finn frowns as the crowd around him laughs at the poor boy. If his precious dog Rory or his new owl Jasper were lost, he would be half crazy with worry trying to look for them. He understands the boy's elation upon seeing his lost pet, especially when toads, while hard to notice until they croak, are especially killed by predators. Finn does his best to not feel down at how little his future classmates seem to value their pets or at least others' pets and lost animals in general. He watches as McGonagall says nothing and turns to introduce them to the rest of the dining hall before they file in. It doesn't take long before Draco appears in the front of the pack, standing in front of a boy that Finn assumes is Harry Potter from the smirk on Draco's face.

"Well, if it isn't Harry Potter." Draco says with a cunning smirk on his face that widens when everyone's eyes seem to focus on the two of them. "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Draco introduces himself, dramatically holding his hand out for a shake. "Between you and I, Potter, I'd be careful with who I befriend." he turns his gaze to the redhead next to Harry with a look of disdain on his face and sizes him up. "Tattered clothes, red hair, hand-me-down robe, you must be a Weasley." Draco scoffs before turning back to Harry. "You need stronger friends than Weasley to back you up here, and I want to do that for you, granted that you do the same for me. What do you say?"

Finn watches the exchange very tensely. He's heard of the boy who survived the killing curse, the same curse that killed his own mother, and Finn can't help but feel a kinship to the boy. Both lost people very dear to them by a horrid curse from evil wizards. Upon getting his letter and before he met his new friends, Finn had hoped to befriend Harry once they reached Hogwarts. Now, he doesn't feel the need to cling onto the wonder boy, content with the three friends he's already made, but he can't help but worry about what would happen if Harry were to join Draco. To his relief, Harry brushes Draco's hand aside and states coolly, "I think I can pick my friends just fine, thanks."

There's a ripple that goes through the body of first years, and Finn spies an embarrassed flush creeping up Draco's neck as he glares and straightens up. The Malfoy heir's gaze locks onto someone on Finn's right: Sterling. "You'll regret your choice Potter." Draco continues with a scowl, but it's soon replaced with a smug smirk. "But I guess you're better at making friends than Kingsbury over there. Weasley's at least a pureblood, no matter how tainted the line might be, but Kingsbury's got a filthy mudblood clinging onto his arm like some filthy rat."

There's a stunned gasp as the crowd turns to their little group. Anne suddenly becomes very aware of the fact that she's the closest female to Sterling and internally wishes that she knew enough magic to curse Malfoy's tongue off. Being pressed from all sides by this constantly squirming crowd is torture enough, but she's already got a headache from the lights earlier, and her stomach has yet to completely settle. Needing some kind of relief, she is about to snap back at Draco for his comment, but Sterling beats her to it.

"Is that the best comeback you have, Malfoy? Name-calling? Anyone can call others nasty names. With all the horn-tooting you've been doing, I expected something better from a pureblood as yourself. All I hear is a whining child seeking attention he doesn't deserve so do us all a favor and stop making a fool of yourself. Whatever problems you have against me or my friends can be taken care of without wasting others' time."

"While I would not have used those words, the young man is correct, Mr. Malfoy." Professor McGonagall says, stepping up behind him and making him jump. "Get back in the crowd and deal with personal matters in your own time."

Malfoy scowls and slips back into the crowd where his two lackies are waiting. Anne feels the gaze of the others in the crowd which doesn't help the already stifling pressure that she's feeling. Her mouth waters and her breathing shudders, but she desperately stamps down the anxiety with all the strength she has. She refuses to have a panic attack right before one of the most important moments of her life. Kylie slips her hand into Anne's, causing Anne to smile in relief as the entire group moves forward slowly into the dining room. With the gazes gone, Anne can appreciate the beauty of the dining room. The roof is of a starry sky that is absolutely breathtaking. Floating candles provide a cheery and warm light while simultaneously blowing Anne's mind. She hears a soft coo from her left and sees one of the upperclassman girls pointing in her direction and whispering to her friend about how "cute" she is. Blushing heavily, Anne squeezes Kylie's hand for comfort as they all draw to a stop at the end of the hall. She ducks her head down and whispers softly so only her friends could hear. "I'm sorry for nearly panicking back there. Tonight's just been…"

"Horrendous? Believe me. I feel you. We must be extremely unlucky to run into Malfoy twice in one evening." Finn whispers back softly with a gentle smile on his face.

"Yeah, and not just that, you seem really pale and kind of green. Is it because of what happened on the boats?" Kylie asks in concern, lowering her voice further when talking about what happened on the boats. Anne simply gives a nod in response, overcome with how kind and understanding her friends are. She's so incredibly thankful to have met such sweet people so soon in her magical career.

"Chin up, Anne. Malfoy's been knocked down several pegs. Don't look like you regret it, or he will win this fight." Sterling advises softly, keeping his eyes forward while subtly keeping an eye on Malfoy to make sure he's not up to something.

A soft smile lightens up Anne's face as she gathers up the courage to keep her chin up. It's the least she can do after Sterling stood up for her. Sure, she's not the most courageous person, but she will not let Malfoy twist her discomfort of crowds for shame. "Thank you everyone for everything you've done so far."

"Hey what are friends for?" Finn says with a grin.

"We really haven't done all that much though…" Kylie mutters sheepishly, blushing lightly from the sudden gratitude.

"Of course." Sterling responds unperturbed and taking the gratitude in stride, making the other three share glances and snicker softly just moments before McGonagall begins calling out names. Several names fly by, none of whom the quartet are familiar with.

"Hermione Granger"

Kylie perks up slightly at the name. She recognizes the girl's curly mane of hair from when the girl had asked McGonagall a question. Her blue eyes follow the girls tense figure as she climbs onto the platform and sits on the stool. Kylie's eyes widen slightly when the girl glances at their group before the hat's large brim covers her eyes from view. _Hmm, could she be a muggleborn as well? Why else would she look at our group?_ Kylie wonders internally as the sorting hat shouts out Gryffindor.

"I'm not really surprised with how brave she was asking McGonagall that question earlier." Finn whispers while clapping with the crowd. Kylie just nods by his side, unable to respond further because McGonagall calls out,

"Kylie Bennett"

Her breath catches in her throat at the sound of her name, but Anne's warm hand in her own and Finn's hand on her shoulder bring her back to reality. Turning to see Sterling's look of complete confidence in her, Anne's nervous but hopeful expression, and Finn's happy and understanding gaze, Kylie shakes off the fear and pushes her way through the crowd towards the hat and her future. Mounting the steps to the platform, Kylie nervously sits down, and before she can even react, the hat is already on her head, blocking out her view of the room.

"Hm, quite the mind you've got there, little witch."

"Oh, um, thank you," Kylie whispers softly, unsure if she's supposed to talk to the sorting hat.

"Hmm, humble too, and you really value those friends of yours, huh,"

"Of course," Kylie responds confidently, wishing that she could see beyond the rim of the hat to give her friends a huge smile. "They're my friends after all, and they're awesome."

"Yes, yes, quite. You'd make a good Hufflepuff for sure, but your mind needs a challenge. I can think of no better house than RAVENCLAW!"

Kylie blinks when the hat is removed from her head. She turns to the blue and bronze table and can't help but feel proud. These are her house mates, and they are excited to see her. Smiling widely, Kylie turns to her friends in the crowd and gives them a quick wave before descending the steps and into a seat set aside for her fellow first years. A pretty looking girl with platinum blonde hair in loose waves reaches out and shakes her hand while a kind looking boy with chocolate colored curls that looked permanently unkempt claps her on her shoulder. "Welcome to Ravenclaw. I'm Penelope Clearwater, prefect for Ravenclaw. This is my fellow prefect Marcus Turner."

"It's nice to meet you both," Kylie replies, shaking both their hands with a wide smile on her face. She's more than satisfied with her house and can't believe how scared she was earlier. She turns from the blonde female prefect and her curly brown haired partner at the shout of, "SLYTHERIN" from the sorting hat. Kylie manages to turn just in time to see a smirking and proud Malfoy hop off the stool and make his way to the silver and green table. "No surprise there," Kylie mutters softly, vaguely paying attention to the next name while trying to wait patiently for her friends' sortings.

"You know Malfoy?" Marcus asks her curiously, having overheard her comment.

Kylie scowls and shrugs. "Something like that, though I wish I didn't." She tacks on on the end quietly, keeping her eyes on the stream of students that mount the platform.

Marcus doesn't comment further on it, busying clapping for the newest member of the Hufflepuff house, before the next name is called out.

"Finn Callaghan,"

"A Callaghan huh. Seems like that rascal Oscar has a brother," Marcus hums softly, making Kylie turn to him as Finn's eyes disappear under the hat's wide brim.

"You know the Callaghans?" Kylie asks curiously, wondering why there's such a negative tone behind his voice.

"Everyone knows the Callaghans. I mean, after Oscar Callaghan tried to used an unforgivable curse on Professor McGonagall last year, there's wasn't a person in Hogwarts that hadn't heard of the Gryffindor boy gone bad."

"An unforgivable curse?" Kylie whispers hoarsely, her blue eyes wide with horror.

"Yeah, Imperio." Marcus explains in a low tone just before the sorting hat calls out,

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Huh, the hat took a while with this Callaghan, but at least we know that he won't go insane like his brother. No Hufflepuff has gone evil of their own free will." Penelope whispers softly, breathing a soft sigh of relief while Kylie feels sick to her stomach. She meets Finn's disappointed but hopeful gaze and forces a cheery smile on her face. Finn seems to sense what's wrong because he's smile slips off his face, and he hesitates in turning to sit with his new house. Kylie glances over at the yellow and black table and sees most of the witches and wizards there clapping politely and ready to accept Finn into their house. Suddenly glad that Finn got into the house known to be the kindest and least judgmental, Kylie allows a real smile to light up her face as she mouths, "later" at him, causing Finn to nod slightly and continue to the Hufflepuff table. Kylie knows that there is more to Finn than she knows, but she also knows that Finn values trust and friendship above all else so she decides to suspend her disbelief, to not make a decision about this new information until she hears it from Finn himself when he's ready to tell her. Until then, she'll keep being his friend and supporting him because from what she's heard from her own house who's known to be the most objective, Finn's gonna need all the support he can get.

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

_And we're back with... the highly anticipated arrival of... *drumroll please*.. The Sorting Hat part 2!_

 **Sorry about that... Erin's a bit overdramatic at times**.

 _Hey I'm just getting our readers excited about the next installment because today we find out that... *louder and more dramatic drumroll*_

 **I don't know how you're doing that because neither of us own drums, but please stop... it's hurting my ears.**

 _Sorry Ro... today we find out that one of the members of the group has a special ability! Which one will it be? What house will Anne and Sterling be sorted into? Guess you'll just have to read and find out!_

 **Well, it's more like clarification than anything else since I'm pretty sure the readers can guess which character has the ability.**

 _True. True. But it is still an exciting chapter since everyone will be sorted!_

 **That's right! So enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9; The Sorting Hat part 2**

Finn walks slowly up to his new house with a small smile on his face and half a mind to run over to the Ravenclaw table and demand Kylie tell him what's wrong. Just the thought of his friend being bothered by something bothers him, but Finn shakes it off and turns to his new housemates, determined to make a good impression. He gives the kind looking strawberry blonde girl who he assumes to be the house's female prefect his best smile before enthusiastically holding his hand out to the chocolate brown haired male prefect. "I'm Finn Callaghan. I'm excited to be in Hufflepuff with you," Finn exclaims as he climbs into an empty seat across from a girl whose name he doesn't remember and the male prefect.

It isn't even a lie. While he was slightly disappointed that he wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw with Kylie, he knows that Hufflepuff really is the best house for him.

" _You've got a heart of gold, Kid, and your friends and family are your world, even your older brother which is saying something with what that brat did. Sure you're brave enough to be in Gryffindor with all the crazy stunts you've done with animals, but bravery is not far from stupidity and recklessness and even selfishness if not tempered by kindness. You'd probably survive in Ravenclaw, but I don't see you thriving. You're more of a hands on person than a book one after all. Since it's my job to pick the best house for each young witch and wizard, I can't put you in Ravenclaw, and Slytherin isn't even an option for you. Yes, for someone like you the best house is HUFFLEPUFF!"_

Like the sorting hat explained, his friends mean everything to him. He doesn't want to be like his father and brother who pushed others away because they were hurting. He wants to hold on to the precious people he has left in this world and make even more. Sure, a part of him hoped to be in Gryffindor, but he agrees with the sorting hat that bravery without kindness leans too close to tyranny at times and arrogance at others. Besides, another Callaghan in Gryffindor? He'd never be able to escape the long shadow that Oscar has cast over him. No, he truly is excited and thankful to be in Hufflepuff, the most likely house to accept him for him, and Finn isn't disappointed.

"I'm Gabriel Truman," the male prefect introduces, shaking Finn's hand once firmly. His smile is hesitant but willing to get to know Finn, and that's all that Finn asks for, a chance.

"I'm Annabelle James. Pleasure." the female prefect adds, exuding such a kind warmth that Finn gets a painful memory of his kind and gentle mother who told him that she was almost sorted into Hufflepuff during her years at Hogwarts.

"Thank you for welcoming me," Finn murmurs gratefully, a soft smile on his face before he begins clapping with the rest of the crowd as the boy who owns Trevor the frog gets sorted into Gryffindor. The prefects of Hufflepuff catch onto the secondary meaning of his thanks and smiles at him in hope. Yes, they are willing to give this boy a chance because he isn't his brother, and Hufflepuffs wouldn't be Hufflepuffs if they allowed family relations and past ills to dictate how they treated innocents.

It's another several names that Sterling doesn't recognize before a name is called that he does. "Anne Le," Professor McGonagall calls out, making the girl next to Sterling stiffen. From the tightening of her jaw, Sterling figures that Anne's gritting her teeth as she forces away her nerves while walking towards the front. The first year crowd seems to partially part for her, some anxious about the supposed filthy rat while others just not wanting to get in her way lest they end up on the receiving end of Sterling's wrath. There are some like Malfoy's lackies who have yet to be sorted who attempt to trip Anne, but to Sterling's amusement Anne steps over their legs swiftly and keeps her tense and stoney visage as she mounts the steps with a single-minded resolve. His eyes lock with her worried and scared brown ones a second before the wide brim hat covers them. Then, all he can do is hope and wait.

The moment Anne feels the hat drop on her head, blocking out her view of the crowd, a voice crows excitedly which causes Anne to flinch violently. "Ah, you're a complex one, aren't you?" the hat hums softly, the delight of having a complex student to sort obvious in its tone of voice.

Anne feels herself flush partially with pride and partially with embarrassment because she can hear the snickers coming from the crowd at her reaction. _What else can I do?_ she thinks defensively. _This is all new to me._

"You're a rather defensive one, aren't you?" the hat drawls in amusement. "There's quite the Slytherin potential in you if that fury and ambitious to prove yourself is harness into cunning. Of course, you'd have to deal with that anxiety of crowds and paranoia."

Anne winces at the hat's smarting words and hisses softly, "It's a lot harder than you would think, considering you've probably spent most of your days on a dusty hat rack." She can't see the arched eyebrow Professor McGonagall gives her.

"Haha! Witty too. And perhaps you're right. You may have the tongue and the ambition, but with your anxiety, they'd twist you completely out of proportion, and we can't have that little Seer."

"Seer? What-"

"Ah, you forget that while they cannot hear me, they can hear you, and I'm sure that little brain of yours can figure out what would result if anyone figures out about your little visions besides your friends."

"So that's what they are," Anne whispers subconsciously before clenching her jaw tightly shut and determines to remain silent for the rest of the sorting, even if there are questions she's dying to have answered.

"Yes, but there's little I can give you besides your title. As you aptly put it, I don't understand because I spend most of my days in a, as you put it, hat rack." the hat continues with a chuckle as Anne flushes at her rash words earlier. "You forget, Seer, that I can read those thoughts buzzing around in that head of yours. The apology is accepted, and I must say that you're much too polite and down on yourself to be a Slytherin. That's very Hufflepuff like of you, but I do believe that all the niceness would drive you either insane or into a spiral of guilt since you'd struggle being that nonjudgmental and forgiving, little Seer. You could make a Gryffindor with that fury and determination, but that social anxiety of yours will be a problem yet again. Like your benny friend,"

Here Anne can't help but barely stifle a giggle.

"You are best in either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. That mind of yours is like a rough diamond. When honed with other diamonds, it can be near unbreakable. But you don't let things go quickly, despite of being willing to give people multiple chances to get their act together. Perhaps Hufflepuff can help you let go and trust people more. You've got a kind of objectivity and open ear that is something rare outside the Hufflepuff house. Besides, perhaps being surrounded by a kind house will help temper than bitterness and paranoia in you."

Anne pauses to think. Both houses are quite plausible. Finn is in one and Kylie the other so both choices would end up great since she already has a friend in both. Yet as she mulled over it some more, she realized that both had their advantages. While Ravenclaw may sharpen her mind and challenge her to get smarter, it would be hard to hide her visions from inquiring and curious minds. Anne doesn't know how she'd respond if curious and nosy housemates pushed a little too far with their questions. She'd hate it if her defensiveness caused her to lash out at people who were simply just curious. While Hufflepuff would let her eccentricities slide and help her lose her harsh defensiveness, she isn't sure if the lack of academic drive would push her to think outside of the box to solve the visions she may end up having if the hat is correct.

"Ah, yes those are all valid concerns, but the fact that you've shifted through the pros and cons like that tells me that you belong in RAVENCLAW!"

Anne blinks blearily as the hat is swiftly removed from her head, and the hall begins to applaud. She had completely lost all sense of time while talking to the sorting hat, and it apparently is evident because her entire house is giving her curious looks, as if they are about ready to pounce on her with questions the second that she gets to her seat. Thankfully, Kylie's saved her a seat so it shouldn't be too bad with her friend helping her ignore the questions she doesn't want to answer. She sends Finn a sad smile which he just shrugs slightly at before nodding slightly to Sterling in the crowd before walking to her table next to Kylie. As she suspected, she isn't even fully seated before the prefects begin talking.

"Marcus Truman, your male prefect for this year, and this is Penelope Clearwater." Marcus says quickly, holding out his hand while getting straight to the point. Anne nods and smiles slightly, shaking the older boy's hand before turning to Penelope and doing the same.

"You were under that hat for a long time," Penelope says casually, but her underlying question is clearly understood. _What was going on during all that time?_

Anne blinks and shrugs, trying to hide her nervousness. "How long was I under there?" she asks instead, redirecting the question and hopes that they get the hint. Thankfully, her upperclassman do and quickly drop the interrogation for another time after answering her question. Anne sighs with relief and turns to Kylie who gives her a tight smile. Anne pauses, trying to convey her message without anyone else at the table knowing. "It answered the question I had on the boats." she says simply, watching in relief as Kylie's eyes widen in shock.

"Really? So it was all you?" Kylie responds after careful thought, though she does her best to appear casual. Anne grins at her friend proudly and nods.

"Yeah, it was all in my head. It seems like I know more than I ever expected and probably more than I'll ever fully grasp." Anne adds with a lazy shrug while Kylie's brows furrow as she deciphers the meaning behind Anne's words.

"Huh, well I'm here to be your sounding board if you need it." Kylie offers, hoping Anne would take up her offer and explain what's going on tonight before bed.

"Thanks. I appreciate it. I've got a lot to think about so I'll probably need a good chat later. We'll see though." Anne responds with a triumphant smile, giving Kylie a high five under the table for her amazing work playing along. Yeah, she is sure that Ravenclaw is the right house for her. Anne is sure that her upperclassman are suspicious. After all, they're sentences are to stiff, delayed, and cautiously thought through to the point that Sterling would be ashamed with how little subtlety they displayed while doing so. While it may give rise to more questions, it also answered one of them; no, Anne doesn't want to talk about it. As long as that question is answered, Anne doesn't particularly care if they are curious. There isn't much information that she has, even if they can weasel it out of her.

The next few sortings are lost to Anne as she and Kylie chat quietly about Hogwarts itself. Kylie explains to Anne what to expect the next day with getting their schedules and finding their way to class. While the two did clap politely, it's hard to keep focused on all the sortings that have happened at that point until a certain name is called.

"Harry Potter"

The entire room falls into a hushed silence as the Boy Who Lived mounts the platform and settles into the stool. Anne cautious gazes at the boy, bracing herself just in case if she's assaulted with another vision. Yet as the minutes stretch on with only Harry's inaudible whispering and the hat's wiggling on top of Harry's head as it talks, Anne begins to think that the visions are much more random events than she ever considered. Sighing partly of relief and partly of disappointment, Anne relaxes and tries to wait patiently until Harry's sorting is over.

"Potter's has gone on longer than yours," Kylie whispers softly into Anne's ear as they watch Harry seemingly have an argument with the hat.

Anne grimaces in sympathy when she hears the first years whispering that Harry's mouthing the words, "Not Slytherin" over and over again. "He must be a hard sort and is trying to convince the hat to put him in a specific house." Anne murmurs softly, getting the attention of Penelope, Marcus, Kylie, and a blonde haired girl that was sorted just before Kylie, but the girl's name escapes both of the friends at the moment.

"Convince? The hat can be convinced?" Penelope asks incredulously while Marcus just stares at Anne with a contemplative frown on his face.

Anne shrugs. "The hat took a while with me and gave me the two houses it thought was best, and I started sorting through the pros and cons of both. That convinced the hat to put me here instead of Hufflepuff."

Kylie grins widely. "You were almost a Hufflepuff too? Same!"

Anne laughs lightly and playfully nudges her friend. "Great minds think alike, right?" she teases, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from admitting that she was rather close to being sorted into Slytherin herself.

"Yes, and all the great ones are also slightly mad," Kylie says with a smirk before the two of them dissolve in a fit of stifled giggles. Penelope and Marcus smile at the duo and relax further. While their curiosity and suspicions were raised with the girls' cryptic conversation, Anne and Kylie unknowingly alleviated their suspicious with their admittance to almost being sorted into Hufflepuff. There hasn't been a single Hufflepuff in history, at least to their knowledge, that went bad so these girls could just be uncomfortable telling strangers which is a very reasonable feeling to have.

It is not until Anne and Kylie have managed to calm themselves down somewhat that the hat calls out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

"We got Potter! We got Potter!" the red and gold table shouts, chanting loudly and rushing forward to greet the grinning boy. Anne blinks slowly as if in a dream.

"Red and gold. Cheering." she whispers hoarsely, her hand reaching out to grasp Kylie's wrist in a vice grip.

"What is it?" Kylie hisses quietly, glancing around the room, but everyone's too preoccupied with Harry Potter's sorting.

"I saw it. I saw it coming." Anne croaks, trying to process the reality of everything. "I saw red and gold and … and cheering, but …"

"But what? Did you see something else?" Kylie whispers urgently, her blue eyes darting back and forth as she notices people starting to sit back down, specifically the Slytherin table behind them.

"Screaming and a terrible monster that I don't know the name of." Anne murmurs. "Do….Do you think it will happen tonight? Everything was so unclear and murky at the end."

Kylie shrugs helplessly, completely unsure of what to do. "I don't know what to tell you Anne. I...Maybe we should go to Professor Dumbledore."

Anne nods solemnly. "Yeah, the first weekend we have, the four of us should go."

"Sterling Kingsbury"

Sterling hears the hall quiet down once again but keeps his face blank and his head held high as he makes his way through the crowd and to the stool on stage. In all honesty, he was getting rather impatient waiting for his turn to be sorted so he is very glad to finally be getting the entire ordeal over with. As he walks through his year mates who begin to part ways for him in awe or fear or both, he notices out of the corner of his eye that Kylie and Anne have stopped whatever hushed and frantic conversation they were having to pay attention to his sorting from beginning to end. On the other side of his peripheral vision, he sees an excited Finn jerk up from his previously slumped posture like an excited puppy. His expression clearly reads, "finally" as he gazes at Sterling, as if it's Sterling's fault that Finn had to wait so long for the sorting to begin. Sterling refrains from rolling his eyes at Finn's expression but embraces the warm feeling that floods his chest upon seeing his friends alert and interested in him. This is something he cherishes and wants to protect, no matter what. Sterling begins to mount the platform. He had watched his friends after their sortings go to their houses, and they seemed so content and happy that Sterling decides to do something very rare of him: put his faith entirely on the sorting hat. Sterling is usually the type to take everything with a grain of salt, but now, as he sits on the stool, he's ready for whatever the hat has for him.

"Ah so I get to sort the heir to the Kingsbury noble family. I'm honored." the hat says, causing a surprised Sterling to pick up the sarcasm in the hat's voice. "Huh, it seems like you and your friends are all relatively difficult in your own right. You've got the cunning and ambition to succeed in Slytherin as well as the backbone to force your way to the top of that snake den. Yet there's a bravery in you and a desire to protect no matter what that makes you uniquely Gryffindor. It seems like your friends have done you some good so maybe Hufflepuff wouldn't be too bad. No, no, you'd most certainly be driven mad with how gentle the badgers are. Your mind is quite bright, but I have a feeling that the constant study would get rather monotonous for you, seeing as you like being kept on your toes in more respects that academics. Just two houses left. My, my where to put you,"

Sterling's heart pounds as his mind whirls. If he is in Gryffindor he could keep tabs on the Boy Who Lived and see just what's going on with Anne, but he's not sure if he's comfortable in a house of brawn like Gryffindor. Sure, Gryffindor is his father's house, and he's so incredibly proud of his father. Yet for some reason, he feels uneasy around the house. From what he's observed, the members of the house are just as arrogant and reckless as they are brave and noble. Sterling doesn't lie the uproarious nature of the Gryffindors, being a more subtle and meticulous person himself. If he is put in Slytherin, he would have trouble going anywhere in the castle without suspicion, being automatically labeled a villain in the eyes of most of his classmates, but he could keep an eye on Malfoy and his lackies. Even though Malfoy is a brat, Sterling acknowledges that his family is powerful and holds sway. Without him standing in Malfoy's way, the blonde boy would probably interfere with Anne, Kylie, and Finn without them being able to do anything about it. No, Sterling won't allow it. In all honesty, beating Malfoy at his own underhanded game for dominance doesn't sound too bad.

"It seems like you've made up your mind." the hat murmurs thoughtfully. "Are you sure? You'd take the mantle of a villain to protect your friends?"

"I prefer antiheroes over a traditional protagonist anyways," Sterling responds with more confidence than he feels, but he knows that this is where he'd grow the best. In Gryffindor, Sterling knows that he'd be drawn into the same crowd as Harry simply because he's a Kingsbury, and while he has no qualms against Harry, Sterling feel the need to befriend the boy at all since he himself is already rather well known, and a small part of him is resentful towards the Boy Who Lived for being an unknowing source of pain for his friends. No, Gryffindor is not for him. Besides, many times it takes a Slytherin to know a Slytherin's motives and actions.

Sterling frowns, disliking how his house choice seems to be so dependent on his circumstances and other people. It shouldn't be that way, but he's not completely comfortable with either house. While Slytherin is a bit easier to stomach since at best his future housemates would leave him alone out of self-preservation, Sterling doesn't like a lot of his future housemates, especially Draco. He'd probably miserable there, but it'd be a constant headache to be in Gryffindor with the nosy extroverts too brave to know when to keep their noses out of his business. Sterling sighs softly, glad that in the very least he'd have his friends to back him up

"Haha! I admit you make a strong case. You don't quite fit either house, but the blend of the two houses' values is something I am interested in observing in the future. For now I agree with your subtlety. SLYTHERIN!"

The clapping is polite as he stands from his chair. The crowd of first years in front of him have already changed their expressions to primarily fear or caution, and Sterling can feel the wary stares of his upperclassmen digging into him; the mantle of an antihero is heavy indeed. Then, he remembers Anne's promise, his eyes turning to her and Kylie as he makes his way off the platform. When their gazes meet, a promise is kept because Anne just smiles back at him with Kylie grinning just as hard next to her. Sterling sighs in relief and continues to his table, politely shaking hands with his prefects and sitting far away from a disgruntled Malfoy. Yes, the mantle he chose to wear is heavy, but he has three friends who are willing to help carry it for him. From his seat at the green and silver table, he meets Finn's bright and determined gaze. The dirty blonde haired boy mouths something at him, and while Sterling can't be sure of exactly what his friend says, he gets the gist.

 _Wreak havoc._

Sterling smirks lightly and dips his head in Finn's direction. He'd be glad to do just that. After all, that fits perfectly with his plan of being an antihero anyways.

* * *

 _Sooooo, what did you think? Will being in Slytherin be too much for Sterling? How's Finn going to cope with what his brother did? What's going to happen with Anne now that she's been told she's a Seer?_

 **What other magical abilities do you think the members of the quartet should have? Our story is still a work in progress so we'd be really excited to hear some suggestions. Put them in a review, and we may just use your idea. We'd obviously give you credit for it of course.**

 _And we'll try our best to upload another chapter soon... if the semester doesn't get the best of us, that is._

 **Come back next time where we'll introduce another familiar character from the Harry Potter universe.**

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